FROM    THE    LIBRARY    OF 


REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.    D.   D. 


BEQUEATHED    BY    HIM    TO 


THE    LIBRARY    OF 


PRINCETON    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 


DMA*      ^, 

9k*»      i  ( 


s? 

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'^V^'  u*  rf>'W; 


DEC    1    193 


MEMORIAL    ^' 


CAL  8E^ 


OF 


WILLIAM  JULIUS  MANN.  D.  D..  LL  D. 


Pastor  Emeritus  of  Zion's  German   Lutheran  Congregation,   Philadelphia, 

and  German   Professor  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  in  the 

Theological  Seminary,   Mt.  Airy,   Philadelphia. 


J 


BY 


ADOLPH    SPAETH,    ID.   D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

printed  for 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania. 

1893. 


[Reprinted  from  The   Lutheran  Church   Review  for   January,  1893.] 


WILLIAM  JULIUS  MANN,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


Bom  in  Stuttgart,  Wnerttemberg,  May  29,  18 19. 
Died  in  Boston,  Mass.,  June  jo,  1892. 


I.     ANCESTORS;    EARLY   LIFE;    SCHOOL  DAYS   AND 
UNIVERSITY  TIME. 

An  old  legend  to  which  Dr.  Mann  himself  sometimes  re- 
ferred in  a  half  humorous  manner,  traced  his  ancestors  back 
to  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  Swedish  king  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  who,  after  the  death  of  the  brave  Northern  hero, 
tired  of  the  vicissitudes  of  the  thirty  years'  war,  had  settled  in 
the  little  village  of  Hirschlanden,  Wiirttemberg.  But  the 
church  records  do  not  bear  out  this  interesting  tradition. 
They  help  us  to  trace  the  genealogy  back  to  Johannes  Mann, 
who,  in  1624,  held  the  position  of  treasurer  of  the  Church 
fund(Heiligen-Pfleger)  in  Hirschlanden, and  bought  the  record- 
book  for  the  congregation  for  the  sum  of  four  florins.  To 
hold  such  a  position  of  trust  he  must  have  been  a  man  of  40 
to  50  years,  and  we  are  safe  in  saying  that  he  was  born  about 
the  time  of  the  Book  of  Concord,  of  German  and  not  of 
Swedish  parentage.  Descendants  of  the  same  name  are  still 
found  in  that  village  of  about  500  souls,  belonging  to  the  diocese 

3 


of  Leonberg,  not  many  miles  distant  from  Stuttgart.  When 
Dr.  Mann,  in  the  year  1867,  paid  his  first  visit  to  his  German 
home,  after  twenty-two  years  of  labor  in  America,  he 
preached  in  the  village  church,  where,  for  two  centuries,  his 
ancestors  had  listened  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  among  the 
worshipers  on  that  occasion,  several  branches  of  the  family 
were  represented. 

Of  his  ancestors  Dr.  Mann  himself  writes  :  "  Most  of 
them  were  farmers  and  were  in  satisfactory  circumstances. 
My  father,  showing  good  talents,  was  by  his  father,  who  also 
was  a  farmer  in  Hirschlanden,  sent  as  a  boy  to  the  classical 
school  at  Stuttgart  (Gymnasium).  Afterwards  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  in  an  extensive  mercantile  firm  at  Frankfort  on 
the  Main,  and  was  for  a  time  clerk  in  a  business  in  the  city  of 
Erlangen,  Bavaria.  Returning  to  Stuttgart,  he  at  last  settled 
there,  doing  business  for  himself  until  about  1845,  when  he 
retired." 

His  father,  John  George  Mann,  was  a  prominent  merchant 
in  Stuttgart,  a  man  of  broad  culture,  high  social  standing,  and 
of  sincere  piety,  whose  house  was  frequented  by  scholars, 
poets  and  clergymen  like  Ludwig  Uhland,  Gustav  Schwab, 
Wilhelm  and  Ludwig  Hofacker,  Christian  Adam  Dann,  Chris- 
tian Gottlob  Barth,  Albert  Knapp  and  others,  well  known 
and  held  in  grateful  remembrance  throughout  the  Church  of 
Wurttcmberg.  There  is  an  interesting  entry  in  Dr.  Mann's 
early  diaries  referring  to  a  criticism  of  his  father's  on  the 
Christmas  sermon  of  one  of  the  most  popular  and  poetical 
Stuttgart  pulpit  orators.  Young  Julius  was  enthusiastic  in 
his  praise  of  the  sermon  which  set  forth  the  new-born  Christ 
as  the  King  of  men  and  angels,  the  Saviour  of  sinners  and 
the  Lord  of  glory.  But  the  father  was  far  from  being  satis- 
fied with  it,  saying  that  the  famous  preacher  would  never 
convert  one  soul  by  his  efforts.  "  A  severe  judgment,"  re- 
marks Julius,  "but  resting  on  his  firm  and  clear  knowledge  of 
the  true  way  of  salvation." 

For  more  than  thirty  years  John  George  Mann  was  treas- 
urer of  the  Wurttemberg  Bible  Society  (having  also  been  one 


of  the  original  15  founders  of  the  same),  and  only  about  a 
year  before  his  death  Dr.  Mann  was  surprised  and  gratified  to 
find  among  the  papers  of  Dr.  Helmuth,  which  were  given 
to  him  for  preservation  in  the  Archives  of  Synod,  a  letter 
from  the  Bible  Society  of  Wurttemberg  in  the  well  known 
hand  of  his  father,  written  in  answer  to  an  appeal  from  Ame- 
rica. 

His  mother  was  Augusta  Friederike  Gentner,  daughter  of 
the  Ober-Amtmann  Gentner  of  Freudenstadt,  in  the  Black 
Forest,  Wurttemberg.  Her  genealogy  can  be  traced  back  to 
ante-reformation  times,  and  among  her  connections  we  find 
names  honorably  known  in  the  history  of  Wurttemberg,  such 
as  the  Bilfingers  and  Weckerlins.  She  was  characterized  by 
a  quick  and  lively  spirit,  a  decidedly  poetical  cast  of  mind  and 
great  fondness  for  reading  and  study.  Her  mother  also  was 
of  a  literary  turn,  and  there  is  still  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Mann's  family  the  manuscript  of  a  History  of  the  Popes  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  in  two  volumes,  written  in  the  firm  and  even 
hand  of  that  studious  great-grandmother.  Dr.  Mann's  own 
opinion  was  that  he  inherited  many  of  his  characteristic  quali- 
ties from  his  mother.  She  died  at  Stuttgart,  ten  years  after  her 
husband,  in  her  79th  year,  two  years  after  his  first  visit  to  his 
native  town. 

Of  these  parents  Wm.  Julius  Mann  was  born  on  the  29th  day 
of  May,  1 8 19,  his  mother's  birth-day.  He  was  the  second 
son  of  his  father's  second  marriage  and  one  of  six  boys,  born 
into  the  family,  but  neither  he  nor  the  brothers  knew,  until 
they  had  reached  manhood,  that  they  were  not  sons  of 
the  same  mother,  so  close  was  the  bond  of  love  uniting  them  all. 
Theirs  was  a  peculiarly  happy  childhood,  full  of  sunshine, 
innocent  fun  and  merriment,  governed  by  a  sympathizing, 
loving  mother  who  always  insisted  on  strictest  obedience,  and 
by  the  good  counsels  of  a  tender-hearted  father,  all  pervaded 
and  hallowed  by  the  spirit  of  a  healthy  and  sincere  Christi- 
anity. Numerous  anecdotes  are  preserved  from  this  time, 
showing  some  of  the  prominent  features  in  the  character  of 
the  future  man,  his  generosity,  his  noble  ambition,  his  fond- 


6 

ness  for  wit  and  humor,  his  artistic  traits.  Climbing  to  high 
and  dangerous  places  was  one  of  the  chief  delights  of  little 
Julius,  and  the  desire  to  reach  the  top  of  St.  Leonard's  church- 
tower  haunted  the  very  dreams  of  the  ambitious  boy.  The 
organ  loft  and  organ  were  special  objects  of  interest  and 
investigation,  and  he  was  determined  to  find  out  how  to  make 
music  on  that  mysterious  and  powerful  instrument. 

At  the  age  of  nine,  little  Julius  was  sent,  in  company  with 
his  elder  brothers,  to  the  Latin  school  in  Blaubeuren,  a  small 
town  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ulm,  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the 
Suabian  Alb,  at  the  head  of  the  river  "  Blau,"  which  rises 
there  from  a  beautiful  deep  lake,  called  "  Blautopf"  (the  Blue- 
pot).  It  was  a  great  change  from  the  sunny  vine-clad  hills 
and  the  genial  climate  of  Stuttgart,  to  the  barren  rocks  and 
sombre  woods  of  that  secluded  Alb-Valley,  and  from  the 
sweet  atmosphere  of  that  happy  home,  to  the  prosaic  life  and 
stern  discipline  of  the  Latin  school.  Life's  work  began  in 
earnest;  and  the  time  and  opportunity  for  learning  were  put 
to  good  use  by  the  industrious  young  scholar.  Five  years 
afterwards,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  entered  the  Gymnasium 
in  Stuttgart,  where  he  received  his  preparatory  education  for 
the  University.  In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1837,  he  matricu- 
lated at  the  University  of  Tubingen,  where  he  took  the  usual 
four  years'  course  in  philosophy  and  theology,  passing  his 
final  examination  in  1841.  His  philosophical  studies  during 
the  first  eighteen  months  of  his  university  course  were  more 
or  less  under  the  influence  of  the  Hegelian  system,  which  at 
that  time  was  still  supreme.  And  even  the  theology  taught 
in  Tubingen  at  that  verv  time  began  to  show  the  influence  of 
those  ambitious  followers  of  Hegel,  who  became  the  founders 
and  chief  representatives  of  the  so-called  modern  Tubingen 
School.  The  ''Life  of  Jesus"  by  David  Friedrich  Strauss 
had  just  appeared.  And  Dr.  Christian  Ferdinand  Baur,  the  real 
father  and  head  of  that  school,  was  daily  growing  in  popularity, 
though  he  had  not  yet  advanced  to  those  extreme  negative 
positions  in  New  Testament  criticism,  for  which  he  became  so 
famous  in  later  years. 


But  over  against  these  dangerous  tendencies  which  threat- 
ened to  destroy  the  faith  of  the  young  theologian  and  to 
unfit  him  for  the  practical  ministry,  the  students  found  a 
strong  and  healthy  reaction  in  the  teachings  of  Dr.  Christian 
Friedrich  Schmidt.  He  was  Professor  of  New  Testament 
Exegesis  (his  exposition  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  being 
particularly  praiseworthy),  of  Ethics  and  Practical  Theology. 
The  manner  in  which  he  directed  the  homiletical  and  cate- 
chetical exercises  of  his  students  was  of  the  greatest  value  to 
them.  He  taught  them  to  appreciate  the  fullness  and  richness 
of  the  Bible  text,  which  they  were  to  handle.  A  thorough 
possession  of  the  scriptural  matter  and  a  clear  and  logical 
mastering  of  the  same  was  his  principal  aim  with  his  pupils. 
He  was  a  biblical  theologian  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word, 
and  far  in  advance  of  the  old  supra-naturalistic  school  of 
Tubingen,  approaching  a  more  positive,  churchly  and  his- 
torical position.  Of  all  his  professors  he  exercised  the  deep- 
est and  most  abiding  influence  upon  William  Julius  Mann. 
All  through  his  life  he  spoke  of  Dr.  Schmidt  with  special 
reverence  and  gratitude,  as  the  man  to  whom  he  was  chiefly 
indebted  for  his  theological  training.  "Dr.  Schmidt,"  he  says 
in  his  diary,  several  years  after  his  graduation,  "  seems  to  me 
to  be  one  of  those  rare  men  who  understand  that  most  diffi- 
cult art  of  blending  love  and  energy  in  true  union."  1 

In  his  leisure  hours  he  cultivated  his  aesthetical  and  poeti- 
cal gifts,  and  the  "  disjecta  membra  poetae  "  have  been  pre- 
served in  a  neat  little  package  containing  some  pretty  poems, 
partly  humorous,  partly  of  an  ideal  flight,  full  of  deep  and 
tender  feeling.  Beside  these  he  noted  down,  in  the  form  of 
short  aphorisms,  some  rich  and  pithy  statements,  showing  a 
remarkably  mature  and  thoughtful  mind,  pondering  over  the 
most  solemn  problems  of  the  human  heart  and  life.  "Regen- 
eration,' he  says  in  one  of  those  leaflets,  "  might  be  repre- 
sented as  placing  a  bright,  shining  centre  in  the  midst  of  the 
darkness  of  the  sinful  heart ;  sanctification  as  the  growth  of 

1  An  excellent  sketch  of  Dr.  Schmidt  is  found  in  the  "  Deutsche 
Kirchenfreund,"  1852,  pp.  300  ff.,  written  by  Dr.  Ph.  Schaff. 


8 

that  light-centre  which  gradually  develops  into  a  sun.  The 
more  it  grows,  the  less  it  suffers  the  darkness  of  the  former 
condition  to  surround  it." 

During  his  vacation  days  he  was  fond  of  traveling,  enjoy- 
ing the  beauties  of  nature,  the  treasures  of  art  and  the  memo- 
rable places  of  history  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  beautiful 
Wurttemberg.  "  I  confess,"  he  says,  "  that  ever  since  my 
boyhood,  I  have  been  fond  of  traveling.  When  I  was  hardly 
six  years  of  age,  I  paid  a  first  visit  from  my  Suabian  home  to 
Switzerland,  across  the  lake  of  Constance,  and  had  a  narrow 
escape,  with  my  father  and  brothers,  because  the  steamer 
took  fire  on  our  homeward  journey.  When  I  was  fifteen,  I 
wandered  over  the  long-stretched  Wurttemberg  Alb  to  an- 
cient castles,  the  homes  of  native  princes  and  of  the  imperial 
house  of  the  Hohenstaufen.  Soon  afterwards,  in  company 
with  a  brother,  I  roamed  over  the  hills  and  vales  of  the 
Black  Forest  as  far  as  the  lofty  height  of  the  Strasburg 
Cathedral.  During  my  University  years  repeated  holiday 
excursions  into  the  mountains  of  Switzerland  and  the  Tyrol 
as  far  as  the  plain  of  Lombardy  and  the  Cathedral  of  Milan, 
enlarged  my  horizon.  Our  beloved  river  Rhine  also  was 
followed  from  his  cradle  in  the  glaciers,  down  to  the  level 
plains  of  his  quiet  senility."  {Kirchenfrcund,  1855,  p.  273). 
The  visit  to  Milan  was,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  occasion  for 
his  first  literary  effort,  which  was  published.  He  wrote  a 
very  happy  description  of  the  Cathedral,  printed  in  1843  in 
the  Jugendbloetter  of  Dr.  Christian  Gottlob  Barth  (1799-1862), 
the  warm  friend  and  advocate  of  missions,  the  editor  of  papers 
for  the  young  and  for  the  cause  of  foreign  missions,  and  for 
many  years  the  favorite  speaker  at  the  Basel  anniversaries. 
His  truly  popular  eloquence,  his  terse  and  pithy  style,  his 
happy  mixture  of  tenderness  and  humor,  seem  to  have  had  a 
special  attraction  for  William  Julius  Mann,  who,  in  many 
characteristic  features,  reminded  his  friends  strongly  of  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Barth.  It  was  Dr.  Barth  who  encouraged  him 
to  write,  but  at  the  same  time  enjoined  the  rule  :  "  Short  sen- 
tences!     Children  have  small  lungs!"     We  may  also  in  this 


connection  refer  to  a  well-known  saying  of  Dr.  Barth,  reveal- 
ing the  secret  of  his  ability  to  master  an  almost  incredible 
amount  of  work.  When  asked  how  he  ever  managed  to 
accomplish  so  much,  he  said  :  "  The  matter  is  very  simple  : 
I.  I  do  one  thing  after  another ;  2.  I  work  quickly;  3.  What 
I  am  unable  tu  take  up,  I  do  not  touch.  This  is  the  whole 
secret."  Those  acquainted  with  Dr.  Mann's  way  of  working 
will  easily  recognize  the  same  principles  as  those  laid  down  by 
his  old  and  venerable  friend  Barth. 

II.   FIRST  WORK  AS  TEACHER   AND   PREACHER. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation,  the  young  theologian 
accepted  a  position  in  a  private  boys'  school  kept  by  Dr. 
Hahn  in  the  little  town  of  Bonnigheim,  Wiirttemberg.  He 
entered  upon  his  work  as  a  pedagogue  with  the  full  enthusi- 
asm and  energy  of  his  nature,  and  the  rich  equipment  of  the 
excellent  training  which  he  had  himself  received.  While  he 
was  strict  and  exacting  in  his  demands  on  his  pupils,  and 
consequently  often  enough  dissatisfied  and  provoked  by  their 
ignorance  and  laziness,  he  took  special  pains  in  studying  their 
individuality,  so  that  he  might  be  sure  to  do  justice  to  each 
one  according  to  his  own  gifts  and  character.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  most  severe  in  criticizing  himself,  in  true  humility 
esteeming  all  men  better  than  himself.  To  work,  and  to  work 
hard,  was  a  real  pleasure  to  him.  When  threatened  once  by 
a  severe  illness,  he  exclaims  in  his  diary:  "  My  God,  do  spare 
me  from  sickness !  I  am  not  a  man  that  can  lie  still."  At 
the  same  time  he  always  strongly  felt  the  need  of  social 
relaxation  and  the  exhilarating  and  cheering  influence  of  con- 
genial friends  and  companions  :  "  If  I  cannot  at  times  have 
some  real  fun,  I  cannot  work,  and  begin  to  feel  quite  uncom- 
fortable." 

In  the  midst  of  his  duties  as  teacher,  which  he  discharged 
with  scrupulous  fidelity,  he  continued  his  literary  efforts.  He 
wrote  a  little  story  called  "  Die  Ansiedler  in  Amerika  "  (Set- 
tling in  America),  published  by  J.  F.  Steinkopf,  Stuttgart, 
1845.     I*  was  written  in  1843,  when  he  could  not  have  enter- 


10 

tained  the  idea  of  coming  himself  to  this  country.  And  yet 
in  this  little  novel  of  117  pages  he  gives  an  excellent  outline 
of  the  geography  and  history  of  the  land  which  was  so  soon 
to  become  his  home.  The  first  chapter  opens  with  the  Lord's 
call  to  Abraham  :  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from 
thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I 
will  show  thee."  And  the  very  year  in  which  this  first  little 
book  of  his  was  published,  was  the  year  of  his  arrival  in 
America ! 

Even  at  this  early  age  he  composed  with  remarkable  ease 
and  rapidity.  A  few  dates,  taken  from  his  diary,  may  serve  as 
an  illustration.  On  the  31st  of  October,  1843,  he  says:  "I  am 
trying  to  plan  a  little  novel  belonging  to  the  Reformation  era, 
but  am  still  in  the  dark  about  it."  On  the  following  day, 
November  1st,  he  has  settled  on  the  whole  outline  of  his  tale, 
entitled  "  Xaverus  Hammerschlag,"  and  on  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber he  is  writing  away  at  the  first  pages.  It  was  intended  for 
the  more  advanced  youth,  pre-supposing  some  Christian  ex- 
perience. He  was  particularly  anxious  to  be  successful  in 
the  "  psychological  treatment  of  the  characters."  "  This,"  he 
says,  "I  enjoy  most."  In  March,  1844,  this  work  was  fin- 
ished; but  he  was  not  satisfied  with  it,  and  thought  it  was 
not  worth  printing. 

But,  much  as  he  liked  the  work  of  the  educator,  he  soon 
shared  in  the  experience  of  many  other  candidates  of  theology 
who,  after  completing  their  studies,  began  their  practical  life- 
work  with  teaching  the  young.  The  work  did  not  give  him 
thorough  satisfaction.  It  was  not,  after  all,  the  real  ministe- 
rial work,  for  which  he  had  been  educated,  and  to  which  his 
natural  gifts  and  talents  pointed.  It  was  his  own  desire,  as 
well  as  that  of  his  pious  father,  that  he  should  be  regularly 
engaged  in  ministerial  work,  in  the  position  of  an  assistant 
(vicarius)  to  some  pastor.  The  opportunity  soon  offered  itself 
in  that,  while  continuing  in  his  position  as  teacher  in  the 
boys'  school,  he  was  appointed  assistant  by  the  head  pas- 
tor of  the  town  of  Bonnigheim  on  February  5,  1844. 
His   father  was   highly  pleased  with   this   appointment,  and 


11 

sent  him  a  copy  of  the  Wurttemberg  Agenda,  together  with 
his  hearty  congratulations.  In  those  days  the  young  candi- 
dates of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Wurttemberg  were  not 
regularly  and  fully  ordained  to  the  ministry.  Ordination,  in 
accordance  with  the  strict  Lutheran  conception,  was  reserved 
for  those  who  were  called  to  a  regular  pastorate,  and  was 
connected  with  their  installation  in  their  first  charge.  Only 
since  the  year  1855  the  ordination  of  candidates  who  are 
simply  called  and  appointed  as  assistants  {incarii)  of  regular 
pastors,  has  been  introduced.  Before  this,  the  young  candi- 
dates, on  entering  upon  their  first  "vicariat"  had  to  take  a 
solemn  pledge,  equivalent  to  an  oath,  before  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  diocese,  or  another  pastor  appointed  by  him.  Ac- 
cording to  this  order,  William  Julius  Mann,  on  the  20th  of 
February,  1844,  solemnly  pledged  himself  before  "  Diaconus" 
Zeller  in  Besigheim  "  to  follow  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
rule  of  faith  in  his  preaching  and  teaching,  and  never  to  devi- 
ate from  the  form  of  sound  evangelical  doctrine,  as  contained 
in  the  Augsburg  Confession."  "  I  gave  him  my  hand,"  he 
says,  "  with  whole-souled  conviction." 

From  this  time  he  is  regularly  engaged  in  the  services  of 
the  sanctuary,  particularly  in  preaching,  for  which  he  was  so 
eminently  gifted.  He  was  very  conscientious  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  sermons,  but  from  the  very  beginning  found  it 
so  pleasant  and  easy  that  he  himself  sometimes  expres- 
ses his  astonishment  at  the  rapidity  with  which  the  work 
of  sketching  and  writing  out  a  sermon  proceeded.  With  his 
excellent  memory  he  never  had  any  difficulty  in  committing 
them.  This  was-  attended  to  while  he  lay  in  bed  at  night. 
The  people  liked  to  hear  him,  and  praised  the  shortness  of 
his  discourses.  "  In  this,"  he  says,  "  I  at  least  hope  to  give 
satisfaction.  Preaching  long  sermons  is  a  bad  thing, — as  bad 
as  preaching  too  often." .  On  this,  as  on  other  points,  he  held 
decidedly  his  own  views,  and  knew  how  to  defend  them 
against  his  colleagues.  "  I  cannot  dance  to  the  piping  of 
others  if  I  know  that  their  playing  is  false."  He  was  con- 
vinced that  there  was  too  much  preaching,  while  there  was  a 


12 

lack  of  really  doctrinal  sermons,  over  against  the  purely- 
emotional.  "  We  ought  to  have  special  catechizations  for  the 
adult  members  of  the  Church."  In  his  own  catechetical  in- 
struction his  chief  anxiety  was,  as  the  pious  fathers  in  Halle, 
Spener  and  Francke,  had  often  expressed  it,  that  it  should 
be  a  matter  of  the  heart,  and  not  of  the  head  !  "  Oh,  that  I 
had  lots  of  stories  to  illustrate  each  lesson,  and  could  com- 
mand many  telling  Bible  passages  !  " 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  in  the  notations  of  his 
diaries  of  those  days,  is  his  special  interest  in  the  Middle 
Ages  and  a  marked  conservatism  and  outspoken  appreciation 
of  the  liturgical  part  of  the  service.  "  The  Middle  Ages  have 
always  a  special  attraction  for  me,"  he  says ;  a  I  am  decidedly 
conservative  in  my  principles.  The  old  becomes  more  and 
more  venerable  in  my  estimation.  Every  change  makes  me 
suspicious." — After  one  of  the  week-day  services,  in  which 
the  Litany  was  commonly  used  in  Wiirttemberg,  and  which 
consisted  simply  in  the  reading  of  the  Word  and  prayer, 
though  a  short  exhortation  was  optional  with  the  minister, 
he  remarks :  "  I  did  not  add  one  word  to  the  Psalm.  The 
beautiful  Litany,  which  is  long  enough  in  itself,  I  tried  to 
read  as  expressively  as  possible.  Our  congregations  ought 
to  be  much  better  trained  to  the  proper  mode  of  true  churchly 
prayers.  They  want  to  be  preached  to.  Their  intellectual 
and  religious  inertia  has  reached  such  a  degree  that  they 
actually  expect  the  preacher  to  chew  the  Word  for  them,  in 
order  that  they  should  digest  it.  How  can  these  things  be 
improved?  Shall  we  continue  in  this  way,  and  preach  on, 
confirming  them  in  their  old  notion,  that  the  word  of  the 
clergyman  is  the  principal  thing  in  the  service,  superior  to 
the  Word  of  God  and  the  prayers  of  the  Church  ?  I  do  not 
believe  this  to  be  the  right  way.  Thus  the  congregations 
will  always  cling  to  what  is  subjective,  the  individuality  of  the 
preacher,  and  there  is  a  lack  of  the  true  churchly  spirit,  that 
spirit  which  prays  for  all  and  prays  in  all  for  the  one  salva- 
tion." 

His  soundness  in  the  faith  and  his  excellent  theological  train 


13 

ing  are  demonstrated  in  an  essay  on  the  "  Christology  of  St. 
Paul  compared  with  that  of  the  Epistles  of  St.  John,"  which, 
according  to  the  standing  rule  in  the  Wiirttemberg  Church, 
he  had  to  submit  to  his  superintendent,  in  1844,  as  vicarius 
in  Bonnigheim. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1844,  at  the  special  request  of 
Prelate  von  Klaiber,  he  became  the  assistant  of  Rev.  Eytel, 
at  Neuhausen,  near  Metzingen,  in  the  beautiful  Alb  Valley, 
leading  up  to  the  ancient  town  of  Urach.  He  was  there  until 
the  9th  of  July,  1845,  and  both  the  superintendent  of  the  dio- 
cese and  the  pastor,  whom  he  assisted,  testify  that  he  quickly 
gained  general  respect  and  confidence  "  by  his  refined  man- 
ners, his  truly  Christian  sermons  and  catechizations  and  his 
edifying  visits  to  the  sick." 

III.  COMING  TO  AMERICA. 

But  the  time  of  his  service  to  his  native  country  and  church 
was  soon  to  come  to  an  end,  and  the  momentous  question 
presented  itself  to  him  of  leaving  "his  kindred  and  his  father's 
house,"  and  going  to  a  far-off  country,  which  the  Lord  was 
to  show  him.  In  the  month  of  March,  1844,  his  intimate 
friend  and  former  schoolmate,  Philip  Schaff,  left  for  America, 
having  received  a  call  to  a  professorship  in  Mercersburg,  Pa. 
"  He  goes  cheerfully  to  America,"  says  the  diary  of  William 
Julius  Mann,  "and  wants  me  to  follow  him  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. I  am  soon  to  have  a  call  from  a  Reformed  Congrega- 
tion.    If  it  should  come,  would  I  accept  it?" 

A  few  months  later  the  question  was  put  to  him  by  his 
American  friend  if  he  would  be  willing  to  accept  a  professor- 
ship of  German  Literature  and  History  at  the  College  in 
Mercersburg,  if  such  a  call  should  be  extended  to  him.  In  a 
letter  written  January  31st,  1845,  he  declares  himself  ready, 
with  the  full  consent  of  his  parents  to  follow  such  a  call,  and 
expresses  a  desire  to  have  popular  lectures  on  chemistry, 
physics  and  geology,  included  in  his  work. 

In  May  1845,  Dr.  Ph.  Schaff  wrote  to  him  from  his  Western 
home  :     "  If  I  were   in   your  position,  I  would   not,  with   my 


14 

knowledge  of  America,  hesitate  to  come  to  this  country.  In 
Wiirttemberg  candidates  are  anxiously  looking  out  for  con- 
gregations ;  here  congregations  are  longing  for  candidates. 
There  you  are  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  in  your  work,  here  we 
have  absolute  freedom.  True,  this  is  poison  for  those  who 
serve  the  flesh,  but  it  is  a  heavenly  gift  for  those  who  know 
how  to  use  it  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the  building  up  of 
His  Kingdom.  There  it  looks  like  autumn  ;  here  every  thing 
is  fresh  and  green.  I  admit  there  is  still  a  terrible  chaos  in 
all  church  matters,  but  we  have  here  an  immense  material  for 
a  grand,  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The  Ger- 
mans, especially  in  the  West,  are  in  the  worst  condition;  they 
are  consequently  most  in  need  of  help,  and  the  future  of  this 
republic  depends  in  great  measure  on  the  proper  training  and 
Christianizing  of  our  countrymen.  This  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
cans themselves  begin  to  see,  and  they  look,  therefore,  with 
greatest  interest  upon  every  thing  that  is  done  among  .the 
Germans  and  for  the  Germans.  Even  if  the  German  pro- 
fessorship should  come  to  nothing,  you  would  be  a  most  use- 
ful man  as  a  German  pastor.  Of  course  one  cannot  expect 
just  to  settle  down  for  a  comfortable  life  in  a  congregation. 
But  the  men  that  have  no  courage  and  delight  in  denying 
themselves  and  suffering  for  the  Lord's  sake,  are  unfit  for  the 
ministry  in  the  Old  World  as  well  as  in  the  New.  Whoever 
is  filled  with  missionary  zeal  and  ready  to  be  satisfied  with 
little  in  the  beginning,  not  afraid  of  any  kind  of  deprivations 
and  sacrifices  and  willing  to  gather  the  scattered  Germans  into 
congregations,  finds  here  an  immense  field  of  labor  and  will 
become  a  blessing  to  thousands.  It  is  really  a  shame  that 
in  Germany  there  are  so  many  candidates  standing  idle  in  the 
marketplace,  whilst  here  multitudes  of  their  countrymen  are 
wandering  about  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd  or  are  falling  a 
prey  to  ravening  wolves.  Come  over  and  help  us !  I  do  not  mean 
to  urge  you,  on  account  of  the  responsibility  I  would  have  to 
assume.  For  the  same  reason  I  do  not  hold  out  brilliant 
prospects  to  you.  The  life  of  the  Christian  here  as  well  as 
with  you,  is  a  chain  of  self-denials  and  sacrifices  and  in  the 


New  World  the  principle  rules  as  well  as  in  the  Old,  that  we 
must  through  much  tribulation  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Those  candidates  who  look  upon  the  ministerial  office 
simply  as  the  cow  which  is  to  furnish  them  with  milk  and 
butter,  had  better  stay  in  Germany.  They  would  only  create 
trouble  in  this  country  and  would  be  disappointed  in  finding 
the  cow  not  as  fat  as  they  expected.  For,  God  be  praised, 
the  people  here  have  sufficient  taste  and  judgment,  to  find  the 
gospel  more  interesting  than  the  diluted  common  morality 
and  respectability  of  rationalism.  But  I  am  confident  that  if 
you  come,  you  will  come  with  a  missionary  spirit,  and  will 
never  lose  sight  of  that  great  and  glorious  aim,  the  building 
up  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  training  of  the  young.  May 
God  put  His  counsel  into  your  heart  and  overrule  all  for 
yourself  and  your  dear  ones  to  the  honor  of  His  glorious 
name." 

Long  before  this  letter  reached  him,  Wm.  Julius  Mann  had 
made  up  his  mind,  to  follow  his  friend  to  America.  In  July 
1845,  he  left  Neuhausen  and  spent  a  few  weeks  with  his  family 
in  Stuttgart.  His  brother  Adolph  had  decided  to  become  a 
missionary  and  had  entered  the  missionary  institute  in  Basel, 
and  consequently  the  parents  had  to  give  up  two  sons  at  the 
same  time,  one  for  America,  the  other  as  a  missionary  whose 
life-work  was  to  be  in  Africa.  But  they  made  the  double 
sacrifice,  though  with  bleeding  hearts,  yet  with  the  full  assur- 
ance that  it  was  the  Lord's  way  and  will.  For  His  sake  they 
were  ready  and  willing  to  part  from  their  beloved  sons.  It 
was  a  parting  for  life  from  the  father,  as  far  as  Julius  was  con- 
cerned, but  to  the  loving  mother  a  reunion  with  both  sons 
was  granted  shortly  before  her  death. 

August  the  16th,  Wm.  Julius  Mann  left  Stuttgart  together 
with  his  brother  Adolph,  who,  on  his  way  to  Basel,  accom- 
panied him  as  far  as  Strassburg.  The  original  plan  had  been 
to  travel  via  Bremen,  but  it  was  changed  to  the  route  Strass- 
burg-Paris-Havre,  in  order  to  have  the  company  of  a  young 
alumnus  of  the  Missionary  Institute  of  Basel,  J.  G.  Zahner, 
whose  destination  was  also  Mercersbunr.     Paris  was  reached 


16 

on  the  19th.  After  a  week's  sojourn,  the  travellers  continued 
on  their  way  to  Havre  via  Rouen.  On  the  9th  of  September 
they  embarked  in  the  "  Havre,"  and  on  the  9th  of  October 
they  landed  in  New  York,  where  Mr.  Mann  was  cordially 
welcomed  by  Gustav  Schwab. 

From  there  the  journey  was  continued  via  Philadelphia  to 
York,  where  the  Reformed  Synod  was  in  session  from  the 
1 6th  to  the  23d  of  October.  There  he  met  his  friend,  Dr. 
Schaff,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Nevin  and  other 
coryphees  of  the  German  Reformed  Church.  On  the  24th, 
Mercersburg  was  reached,  for  the  present  the  end  of  his 
wanderings. 

IV.  IN  THE  GERMAN  REFORMED  CHURCH. 

The  expectation  of  having  a  professorship  established  in 
Mercersburg,  which  would  have  connected  him  permanently 
with  those  institutions  of  the  Reformed  Church,  was  not  re- 
alized. But  during  the  few  months  of  his  sojourn  there  he 
delivered  lectures  to  the  students  on  German  Literature  and 
Universal  History.  His  treatment  of  the  latter  made  a  deep 
and  lasting  impression  on  his  hearers,  and  a  number  of  them 
requested  him  to  allow  them  to  translate  his  manuscript  for 
publication  in  the  English  language.  This  encouraged  him 
to  continue  the  work  down  to  the  time  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution. Of  this  "  Manual  of  Universal  History,"  a  few  frag- 
ments were  published  in  the  Mercersburg  Review  of  Septem- 
ber and  November  1849  and  January  1850.  The  translation 
was  made  by  J.  S.  E.  (Ermentrout)  but  did  not  give  much 
satisfaction  to  the  author  of  the  original. 

Before  the  close  of  his  first  year  in  America,  he  received  a  call 
to  the  German  Reformed  Salem's  Congregation  in  Philadelphia, 
as  assistant  of  its  aged  pastor,  Dr.  Bibighaus,  whose  acquaint- 
ance he  had  made  at  the  Synod  in  York.  On  the  1 8th  day 
of  January,  1846,  his  father's  birthday,  he  preached  his  first 
sermon  in  Salem's  Church,  and  on  May  17th,  1846,  he  was 
formally  ordained  by  Rev.  F.  Bibighaus  and  Rev.  C.  R.  Kessler. 
For  nearly  four  years  he  served  in  that  congregation,  drawing 


17 

large  audiences  by  his  eloquent  sermons,  and  discharging 
faithfully,  the  arduous  duties  of  his  position.  The  burden  of 
all  the  ministerial  work  soon  fell  upon  him,  and  in  spite  of  his 
willingness  and  indefatigable  zeal  he  sometimes  found  it  al- 
most too  much  for  his  strength.  "  Oh,  the  many  words  with 
so  few  thoughts,"  he  lamented  once  at  a  Christmas  season, 
when  he  had  nine  sermons  to  preach  in  eleven  days.  The  truth 
is,  he  was,  at  the  very  outset,  in  danger  of  being  over-worked 
and  consequently  a  feeling  of  discouragement  and  loneliness 
sometimes  overtook  him.  This  depression  was  aggra- 
vated by  the  lack  of  congenial  and  sympathizing  friends  which 
was  deeply  felt  by  him  during  his  first  years  in  Philadelphia. 
It  is  true,  Dr.  Demme,  the  revered  pastor  of  St.  Michael's 
and  Zion's  Lutheran  Congregations  and  the  recognized  leader 
of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  could  not  fail  to  appreciate 
the  talents  and  the  high  character  of  the  rising  young  theo- 
logian, even  at  the  time  when  he  belonged  to  Salem's  Church. 
From  the  very  beginning  of  their  acquaintance  he  treated 
him  with  great  kindness  and  showed  him  special  confidence. 
But  weeks  and  sometimes  months  passed  without  their  meet- 
ing, and  the  modesty  and  delicicy  of  Mr.  Mann's  feelings 
made  him  carefully  avoid  anything  that  might  have  been  con- 
strued as  looking  to  his  own  future  interests  in  cultivating  Dr. 
Demme's  friendship.  He  would  not  listen  to  outside  offers, 
but  faithfully  stood  at  his  post,  though  his  impression  was, 
that  he  was  laboring  in  vain  for  better  churchly  ways  and 
order,  against  a  spirit  of  Methodism  with  its  narrowness  and 
superficiality,  which  pervaded  the  congregation.  Many  did 
not  understand  his  preaching  at  all ;  others,  while  they  helped 
to  swell  his  audiences,  would  not  do  anything  for  the  church 
and  the  congregation.  "  The  life  of  an  American  pastor,"  he 
wrote  in  these  days  to  his  friend  Dr.  Schaff,  is  truly  "  a  lamen- 
tation." "  Scripture  saith  that  it  is  good  for  a  man  to  bear 
the  yoke  in  his  youth,  but  then  they  counted  men  of  70  and  80 
years  fresh  and  young  like  Abraham  and  Methuselah.  For  I 
see,  the  bearing  of  the  yoke  will  hardly  cease  before  we  reach 
these  years." 


18 

In  May  1849,  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his  classis  at  the 
meeting  of  Synod.  He  was  deeply  impressed  with  this  ap- 
pointment, not  as  a  gratification  of  personal  ambition,  but  as 
an  illustration  of  the  peculiar  and  magnetic  character  of  his 
adopted  country,  which  proved  such  a  power  of  assimilating 
strange  elements  and  putting  them  to  useful  work.  He  also 
recognized  in  his  election  an  evidence,  that  the  more  conser- 
vative, churchly  and  historical  views  which  had  of  late  ob- 
tained in  the  Reformed  Church  had  a  fair  prospect  of  holding 
their  own  against  more  subjective  and  fanatical  tendencies. 

The  process  of  Americanization  in  the  best  sense  of  the 
word,  was  rather  rapid  in  his  case,  and  in  that  of  his  friend 
Dr.  Schaff,  as  we  may  readily  understand,  considering  the  solid 
learning,  the  broad  culture,  the  wide  horizon  and  the  thorough 
philosophical  training  which  both  brought  with  them  to  Am- 
erica. Nor  did  he  even  at  that  early  stage  of  his  American 
life  escape  the  scathing  criticism  of  those  who  held  it  to  be 
the  duty  of  all  true  Germans  in  America  to  unite  in  building 
the  grand  dome  of  a  Utopian  New  Germany.  In  1845,  a 
brother  of  the  famous  Dr.  Hengstenberg  in  Berlin,  Candidate 
Edward  Hengstenberg,  visited  this  country.  Mr.  Mann  met 
him  in  Mercersburg  and  was  well  pleased  with  a  sermon 
which  he  heard  him  preach  there.  In  March  1847,  the  Evan- 
gtiischc  Kirchenzeitung  contained  the  following  reference  to 
Mr.  Mann  from  the  pen  of  said  Candidate  of  Theology  : 
"Many,  even  among  those  who  brought  a  solid  German  edu- 
cation to  America,  and  at  first  most  decidedly  and  powerfully 
stood  up  for  the  German  interests,  afterward,  if  not  down- 
right renegades,  become  more  and  more  lukewarm,  gradually 
yielding  to  the  American  influences,  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded. As  an  illustration  of  the  power  which  the  Ameri- 
can mind  exercises  over  Germans  of  solid  education,  the 
writer  refers  to  one  of  his  American  acquaintances.  He  ar- 
rived in  America  at  the  same  time  with  him.  He  was  a 
Wurttemberg  theologian,  of  thorough  theological  and  philoso- 
phical training,  a  gentleman  of  high  intellect,  a  genius,  who 
did  his  own  thinking,  and   at  the  same  time  'gemutlich,'  after 


19 

the  German,  yea,  Suabian  type.  The  writer  met  him  again 
after  the  lapse  of  a  year,  to  find  that  he  had  taken  a  com- 
pletely American  turn,  all  his  sympathies  were  with  American 
ways  ;  even  to  his  tongue,  English  came  more  readily  than 
German  (!).  He  continually  addressed  the  writer,  in  spite  of 
his  protest  against  this  treason  (!),  in  the  English  language, 
yea,  to  mention  this  characteristic  feature,  he  even  spoke 
English  in  his  sleep."  (Evang..Kirchenzeitung,  1847.     P.  244). 

V.  LITERARY  WORK.     THE  KIRCHENFREUND. 

More  satisfaction  than  in  the  pastoral  work  of  the  Reformed 
congregation,  was  found  by  Mr.  Mann  in  the  literary  activity 
to  which  he  was  stimulated  by  Dr.  Schaff,  as  a  contributor  and 
co-editor  of  the  monthly  "  Deutcher  Kirchenfreund"  from 
1848  to  1859.  It  was  indeed  a  bold  enterprise  on  which 
these  two  enthusiastic  young  German  Theologians  launched 
out,  the  one  Reformed,  the  other  Lutheran,  both  loving  each 
other  and  loving  their  Lord,  both  beginners  in  this  new 
country,  thoroughly  imbued  with  what  was  best  in  German 
Theology,  and  at  the  same  time  warm  admirers  of  America 
and  true  prophets  of  her  great  future  in  the  history  of  nations 
and  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  these  days  of  first  class 
printing  facilities  all  around,  we  can  hardly  realize  even  the 
mechanical  difficulties  against  which  that  devoted  and  self- 
forgetting  par  nobile  fratrum  struggled.  More  than  once  it 
happened,  that  Dr.  Schaff  had  to  take  the  compositor's  place 
when  in  the  little  country  town  of  Mercersburg  no  capable 
workman  could  be  found!  And  where  were  the  German 
readers  educated  enough  to  enjoy  and  appreciate  such  a 
monthly?  Where  the  clergymen  of  sufficient  theological 
and  philosophical  training  to  understand  and  support  the  mis- 
sion of  this  journal,  which,  while  equally  unsatisfactory  to  a 
strict  confessionalism,  and  an  unprincipled  indifferentism,  pro- 
posed,to  be  a  real  friend  of  all  that  was  truly  churchly  in  the 
German  Churches  of  America  ?  Though  the  well-known  union 
istic  motto  :  "  In  necessariis  unitas,  in  dubiis  libertas,  in  omni- 
bus caritas,"  might  frighten  off  some  scrupulous  churchmen, 
2 


20 

there  is  no  gainsaying  that  the  "  Deutscher  Kirchenfreund" 
did  some  splendid  work  in  the  interest  of  a  truly  conservative 
Christianity  everywhere  and  particularly  among  the  Lutherans, 
whom  it  beckoned  back  to  their  historical  rock  from  which  they 
were  hewn,  and  whom  it  warned  most  faithfully  against  the  hol- 
low pretensions  of  American  Pseudo-Lutheranism.  The  Kirch- 
enfreund was  followed  in  1849  by  the  Mercersburg Review ,  that 
strong  exponent  of  a  historical  catholic  Protestantism.  Dr. 
Nevin,  the  leading  spirit  of  that  movement,  was  intimate  with 
Mr.  Mann,  and  greatly  admired  by  him  as  a  "true  German 
theologian."  Several  of  Mr.  Mann's  articles  for  the  Kirchen- 
freund were  also  published  in  the  Mercersburg  Review 
(Ecclesiastical  Tendencies,  July  1850,  The  Immigration, 
November  1850).  Both  the  Kirchenfreund  arid  Mercersburg 
Review  assisted  in  paving  the  way  for  the  "  Evangelical  Re- 
view," which  also  appeared  in  1849,  tne  first  timid  swallow 
announcing  the  approach  of  a  new  spring-time  of  conserva- 
tive Lutheranism  in  the  East. 

As  early  as  January  1847,  Mr.  Mann  encouraged  his  friend 
in  Mercersburg  and  promised  vigorous  assistance  in  the  new 
undertaking.  But  at  the  same  time,  faithful  to  his  lifelong 
principle:  "  Not  to  go  into  the  water  beyond  his  depth,"  he 
freely  expressed  also  his  fears  and  doubts,  whether  the  whole 
thing  was  not  somewhat  premature.  Besides,  his  preference 
was  for  a  political  paper,  weekly  or  daily,  read  by  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands,  and  teaching  them  to  read  the  daily 
events  of  history  with  the  eyes  of  a  Christian.  But  waiving 
his  personal  opinions,  he  entered  heart  and  soul  upon  the 
work  of  writing  for  the  Kirchenfreund,  with  "  the  pen  of  a 
ready  writer,"  as  he  often  said. 

He  opened  his  contributions  with  a  series  of  not  less  than 
nine  ponderous  articles  on  the  "  Church  of  the  Present  Time" 
(February,  184S,  to  July,  1849).  During  the  twelve  years  of 
his  connection  with  the  Kirchenfreund — half  of  this  time  as 
editor-in-chief — his  papers  cover  probably  the  widest  range 
of  subjects  ever  treated  in  such  a  journal  by  one  man.  Here 
we  find  from  year  to  year  a  most  comprehensive  and  instruc- 


21 

tive  survey  of  the  whole  political  constellation  of  the  time,  no 
event  of  any  importance  and  significance  in  the  historical  de- 
velopment at  home  or  abroad  being  overlooked ;  there  are 
literary  sketches  (Schiller,  1859);  philosophical  (Jacob  Boehm, 
1853;  Schelling,  1854),  and  theological  essays,  including  every 
branch  of  that  wide  field.  We  give  only  a  few  illustrations 
from  the  different  departments  :  Exegetical  (Romans  1  to  7, 
1858);  dogmatical  (Thoughts  on  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church, 
1857);  ethical  (Religion,  Nature  and  Matrimony,  1859;  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Theatre,  1857);  clmrch-historical  (The  Peace 
of  Augsburg  of  1555,  1855;  The  Ecclesiastical  and  Religious 
Condition  of  Wurttemberg,  1855;  History  of  the  Jews  after 
Christ,  1859);  liturgical  (The  New  Lutheran  Hymn-book  of 
the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  1850;  Liturgy  or  Extem- 
pore Prayer  in  Public  Service?  1853;  The  German  Reformed 
Church  and  the  Liturgical  Question,  1858;  On  the  History 
of  Confirmation,  1856);  pastoral  (Theses  on  Ordination,  1854; 
Synods,  1854;  Pastoral  Conferences,  1857);  congregational 
(Pew-renting,  1856;  Church  Choirs,  1855);  catechetical (Cate- 
chization,  1858);  devotional  (Bible  Pictures,  1849;  Spiritual 
Crumbs,  [850;  The  Unjust  Steward,  1855);  apologetical  and 
polemical  (The  German  Press  in  America,  1850 ;  Christmas 
and  the  American  Presbyterian,  1857);  educational  (Universi- 
ties and  their  Influence  on  the  National  Life,  1852;  The 
Amalgamation  of  National  Traits,  1855;  German  and  English, 
1856). 

Well  might  Dr.  Schaff,  at  the  close  of  the  first  year,  pay  a 
glowing  tribute  to  the  friend  in  these  touching  words:  "With 
deep  emotion  and  with  adoration  of  the  wonderful  ways  of 
God,  we  record  our  special  thanks  to  one  of  our  contributors, 
in  whose  company  years  ago  we  wandered  through  the 
cheerful  scenes  of  Hellas  and  Latium  and  the  sombre  halls 
of  German  philosophy  and  theology.  The  early  bonds  of 
friendship  have  lasted  beyond  the  days  of  Stuttgart  and  of 
Tubingen.  The  simple,  great  word  with  which  we  parted 
ten  years  ago :  '  The  Lord  be  between  me  and  Thee,'  has 
been   our  guiding  star;   and  now — per  varios  casus,  per  tot 


22 


discrimina  rerum — we  are  united  again  in  the  new  world  for 
new  work  in  '  the  Church  of  the  Present,'  for  new  hopes  for 
the  Church  of  the  future.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  Lord 
the  former  home  has  become  strange  to  us,  and  the  strange 
land  has  become  a  home.  The  Church  of  the  living  God, 
who  has  a  great  people  even  in  America,  is  truly  the  be- 
lievers' fatherland ;  wherever  it  is,  there  the  spring  of  life 
pours  forth,  there  the  arch  of  peace  stretches  its  bow,  there 
the  gates  of  heaven  are  opened."  (K.  Frd.,  1848,  pp.  382,  383.) 

VI.    IN  ST.  MICHAEL'S  AND  ZION'S  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA. 

During  Mr.  Mann's  pastorate  in  Salem's  Reformed  Con- 
gregation he  often  had  among  his  hearers  many  of  the  most 
prominent  and  active  members  of  St.  Michael's  and  Zion's 
Lutheran  congregation.  The  families  with  whom  he  became 
more  intimately  acquainted  and  in  whose  homes  he  enjoyed 
his  few  hours  of  leisure  and  recreation,  such  as  the  Schmauks 
and  the  Rommels,  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  His 
theological  and  pastoral  associations  and  sympathies  had  all 
along  been  more  with  Dr.  Demme  than  with  the  pastors  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  He  had  repeatedly  preached  for  Dr. 
Demme  and  for  Rev.  G.  A.  Rc'chert  in  St.  Paul's  and  St. 
Michael's,  and  consequently  his  gifts  as  a  pulpit  orator  were 
well  known  and  highly  appreciated  in  the  old  congregation. 
His  own  theological  position  had  always  been  essentially 
Lutheran,  though,  of  course,  in  the  beginning  not  as  clearly 
defined  and  strongly  pronounced  as  it  grew  under  the  influ- 
ence of  subsequent  conflicts.  In  looking  around  for  a  suita- 
ble assistant  for  Dr.  Demme,  it  was  only  natural  that  the 
vestry  of  Zion's  congregation  should  think  of  Mr.  Mann, 
whom  they  all  knew,  and  whose  personal  relations  to  Dr. 
Demme  were  of  the  most  pleasant  character.  On  the  1 8th 
of  September,  "being  fully  convinced  that  Mr.  Mann  was 
animated  by  the  spirit  of  our  Lutheran  Church,"  and  "  having 
learned  that  he  would  be  willing  to  join  the  Synod  of  Penn- 
sylvania," the  vestry  of  the  Lutheran  Mother  Church  of 
Philadelphia  unanimously  elected  him  assistant  pastor.    Octo- 


23 

ber  7th  he  presented  his  resignation  to  Dr.  Biebighaus.  On 
October  15th  he  informed  the  President  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  of  the  call  he  had 
received,  saying  that  he  would  apply  for  admission  to  the 
Ministerium  at  the  next  convention.  With  reference  to  his 
former  connection  with  the  Reformed  Church,  he  says:  This 
step  had  been  taken  ''out  of  consideration  for  a  dear  friend, 
who  felt  assured  that  I  would  not  be  expected  to  do  anything 
against  my  conscience  and  my  conviction.  With  my  present 
knowledge  of  church  matters  in  this  country,  there  are  other 
and  higher  considerations  which  lead  me  to  embrace  an  op- 
portunity of  joining  again  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church; 
and  it  is  the  desire  of  my  heart  to  serve  this  church  in  which 
I  was  born,  and  to  which  I  owe  my  training  and  education, 
as  the  Lord  in  His  goodness  will  give  me  strength  and  wisdom." 
Having  received  a  favorable  reply  from  President  Richards,  he 
at  once  announced  to  the  vestry  of  Zion's  Church  his  accept- 
ance of  their  call.  On  the  4th  of  November  he  preached  his 
first  sermon  in  Zion's  Church,  on  2  Tim.  2 :  3,  and  four 
years  afterwards,  when  Rev.  G.  A.  Reichert  resigned  (Janu- 
ary, 1854),  he  was  elected  regular  pastor  of  the  congregation 
by  a  vote  of  237  (Easter  Monday,  1854).  His  solemn  instal- 
lation took  place  on  April  23d,  when  Dr.  Demme,  with  a 
heart  overflowing  with  joy,  and  with  touching  and  eloquent 
words,  presented  him  to  the  congregation  as  his  full  colleague 
in  the  ministry  of  that  historical  church.  He  was,  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  Patriarch  Muhlenberg,  the  fifth  pastor  of  that 
congregation.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  all  the  prominent 
pastors  of  that  church  served  it  for  about  the  period  of  one 
whole  generation.  Muhlenberg,  Demme  and  Mann,  the  three 
greatest  of  them,  covered  a  century  with  their  ministrations 
in  the  old  church.  And  what  an  amount  of  time  and  physical 
endurance  the  pastoral  work  required  at  that  time,  when 
the  members  of  the  congregation  were  scattered  over  the 
whole  territory  of  the  large  city,  and  the  pastor  had  to  be  in 
every  quarter  without  the  easy  and  comfortable  street-car 
facilities  which  we  now  enjoy!      His  diary  mentions  almost 


24 

incredible  feats  of  pastoral  work  performed  in  those  days : 
Six  miles  of  walking  besides  the  two  sermons  on  a  Sunday 
when  the  thermometer  ranged  from  93  to  100  degrees  in  the 
shade!  12,  yea  16  funerals  in  one  week!  Once  5  in  one  day! 
No  wonder  that  during  the  summer  of  (853,  when  Dr. 
Demme  was  in  Europe  for  the  restoration  of  his  health,  Mr. 
Mann  was  prostrated  with  sickness  during  the  months  of 
July  and  August.  Fortunately  Rev.  C.  Guenther,  a  young 
candidate  of  theology  from  Wurttemberg,  whose  acquaintance 
Mr.  Mann  had  made  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  in 
Winchester,  was  willing  to  remain  in  Philadelphia,  instead  of 
going  to  Berlin,  as  his  intention  had  been,  to  act  as  Mr. 
Mann's  assistant.  .  During  the  few  months  of  his  service  he 
won  the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  congregation  to  such 
a  degree  that  he  would  have  been  elected  assistant  pastor  on 
Mr.  Reichert's  resignation;  but  he  felt  himself  bound  to  return 
to  the  service  of  his  native  church  in  Wurttemberg. 

Mr.  Mann's  work  in  Zion's  congregation  may  best  be  told 
in  his  own  words,  as  he  described  it  in  his  farewell  sermon, 
preached  November  16,  1884:  I  am  bold  to  say  that  I  took 
up  my  work  among  you  with  joy  and  cheerfulness.  And  you 
yourselves  gave  me  much  encouragement  in  it.  There  was, 
indeed,  no  lack  of  work.  As  assistant  pastor,  my  Sunday 
services  only  consisted  in  catechization  and  sermon  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening.  During  the  winter  (1850  to  185 1), 
on  Sunday  mornings,  I  crossed  over  to  Camden,  and  began 
to  preach  in  a  hall  there  for  the  German  Lutherans  of  that 
city.  It  was,  indeed,  a  small  and  weak  beginning.  But  after- 
wards it  grew  into  a  flourishing  congregation,  now  in  charge 
of  the  Rev.  J.  Dizinger.  Here  in  Philadelphia  our  congrega- 
tion was  constantly  growing,  inasmuch  as  German  immigra- 
tion was  particularly  strong  in  those  days.  The  congregation 
extended  at  that  time  over  the  whole  city.  Its  members  lived 
not  only  in  the  central  part,  where  old  Zion's  and  the  still 
older  St.  Michael's  Church  were  located,  but  also  in  the 
north,  south  and  west.  In  the  "  Northern  Liberties,"  where 
in  1830  St.  Paul's  Church  was  erected,  with  regular  Sunday 


25 

services,  long  before  this,  parish  schools  with  several  divi- 
sions had  been  established  as  in  connection  with  the  other 
churches.  Afterwards  such  schools  were  established  in  the 
territory  where,  in  1856,  St.  James'  Church  was  built  by  our 
congregation;  likewise  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  as 
also  in  the  western  section  at  Fairmount  Avenue  and  Thir- 
teenth Street.  All  these  schools  had  to  be  visited,  and  their 
affairs  had  to  be  considered  and  attended  to  in  the  meetings 
of  the  School  Committee.  Besides,  the  members  of  the  con- 
gregation lived  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  and,  as  far  as  I  know, 
no  one  ever  has  charged  me  with  neglecting  my  sick.  There 
were  at  that  time  no  facilities  as  at  present  for  riding  through 
this  large  city;  and  I  have  surely  made  hundreds  of  miles  on 
foot  in  every  direction.  .  .  . 

There  has  been  no  lack  of  care  and  toil  through  all  these 
years.  Between  1850  and  i860,  Philadelphia  was  repeatedly 
ravaged  by  cholera.  The  yellow  fever  also  demanded  its 
victims  in  the  southern  sections  of  the  city.  I  remember, 
that  in  one  year  I  attended  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  funerals; 
once  sixteen  in  one  week,  while  four  others  had  to  be  refused 
for  want  of  time.  Once  in  a  cold  winter-afternoon  I  had 
four  coffins1  before  me  in  the  cemetery,  those  persons  having 
died  of  spotted  fever,  which  was  at  that  time  the  scourge  of 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  city.  Often  enough  in  the  dis- 
charge of  my  pastoral  duties,  have  I  come  into  contact  with 
all  kinds  of  diseases  but  never  have  I  been  attacked.  I  say  this 
here  because  there  are  still  found  such  unreasonable  people 
who  think,  that  a  pastor  has  nothing  to  do  through  the  week 
but  prepare  his  sermon  for  Sunday,  and  then  his  work  is  done. 

In  the  course  of  years  a  new  and  important  duty  arose  for 
our  congregation,  which  had  grown  to  be  very  large.  Our 
schools  had  become  an  attraction  to  many,  inducing  parents 
to  join  the  congregation.  They  certainly  did  a  great  deal  of 
good  to  many  children,  and  the  congregation  had  teachers  in 
them  whose  memory  will  be  blessed  for  ever.  But  it  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  difficult,  to  govern  in  peace  and  quiet  - 
1  The  diary  says  "five." 


2G 

ness  this  large  congregation,  spread  over  the  whole  city  and  to 
provide  properly  for  its  spiritual  wants  and  improvement. 
The  members  living  around  the  schools  in  the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  city  soon  found  the  way  too  far  to  the  churches 
in  the  centre  of  the  city.  They  were  anxious  to  have  their 
own  churches.  It  is  well  known  that  the  immigrant  popu- 
lation, especially  in  our  large  cities,  is  not  blessed  with  means, 
particularly  in  those  first  years  when  the  start  is  made  in  the 
New  World.  Ground  and  material  for  building,  as  well  as 
labor,  are  very  expensive.  The  outcome  was,  that  the  con- 
gregation bought  the  cemetery  in  Hart  Lane,  which  is  at 
present  used  by  our  German  Lutheran  congregations  of  Phila- 
delphia, while  the  old  cemeteries  belonging  to  the  congrega- 
tion were  evacuated  and  sold;  the  one  in  Fifth  and  Cherry 
around  old  St.  Michael's  Church  had  become  available  already 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fifties ;  the  other  covered  the  ground 
on  which  our  new  Zion's  Church  stands  together  with  the 
adjoining  houses  from  Franklin  to  Eighth  street.  With 
the  money  realized  by  these  sales,  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  St. 
Johannis  at  Fifteenth  and  Ogden — also  the  church  on  Fourth 
and  Carpenter  street  were  provided  for;  they  all  have  now 
their  own  beautiful  churches  and  are  flourishing,  inde- 
pendent congregations.  Old  Zion's  Church  and  old  St. 
Michael's  were  also  sold,  and  on  Sunday,  September  nth, 
1870,  we  solemnly  entered  this  new  and  beautiful  house  of 
God.     (Zion's  Church  in  Franklin  Square). 

My  idea  had  been,  that  after  the  division  of  the  large  con- 
gregation into  its  different  sections,  the  new  congregations, 
had  been  accomplished  in  1867, — and  this  was  really  the  most 
significant  event  in  the  nearly  150  years  of  its  history — only 
a  small  fraction  of  the  whole  would  remain  for  my  pastoral 
ministrations.  But  I  was  mistaken  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
things.  Certainly  our  new  Zion's  Church  is  a  large  building, 
and  to  me  it  seemed  somewhat  too  large.  But  I  rejoiced  in 
my  heart  on  seeing  it  nicely  filled.  Many  people  joined  us  only 
at  this  time  ;  and  many  dear  old  members,  whole  families,  who 
lived   at  a   great  distance   from  the   church,  were  unwilling  to 


27 

leave  the  old   congregation  to  which  they  had  been  attached 
so  long. 

It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  one  cannot  forget  a  congrega- 
tion to  which  thirty-four  years  of  work,  the  best  strength  of 
our  life,  have  been  given.  Much  less  is  this  possible,  if  one 
has  been  happy  in  the  midst  of  such  a  congregation.  And 
this  has  been  my  case  among  you,  particularly  during  the  last 
seventeen  years,  since  we  formed  a  separate  congregation  for 
ourselves.  When  I  remember  how  I  went  out  and  in  among 
you,  my  soul  is  filled  with  love  to  you  and  gratitude  toward 
God.  I  was  deeply  moved,  when,  some  time  ago,  an  old 
and  faithful  member  of  the  congregation  said  to  me  :  "  We 
find  it  so  hard  to  part  from  you,  because  you  have  been  to  us 
not  only  our  pastor  but  also  the  friend  of  our  house."  And 
I  have  been  kindly  received  wherever  I  went  and  knocked  at 
the  door.  A  thousand  times  I  shared  with  you  your  hours  of 
happiness  and  your  days  of  sorrow  ;  the  pastor  being  particu- 
larly called  upon,  to  rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice  and  to 
weep  with  them  that  weep.  Looking  back  upon  the  thirty- 
four  years  of  my  work  among  you,  the  question  proposes  it- 
self: ''What  have  I  really  accomplished  during  this  long 
period?  What  is  in  reality  the  result  and  gain  for  eternity?" 
And  this  question  is  enough  to  humble  me  and  bow  me  down 
and  take  away  any  inclination  to  glory.  And  yet,  I  may  say, 
that  while  in  younger  years  I  had  no  special  desire  for  preach- 
ing, I  have  been  most  happy  in  this  particular  function  of  my 
ministerial  office.  The  Apostle  truly  says,  "  If  a  man  desire 
the  office  of  a  bishop  he  desireth  a  good  work."  I  know  it 
and  may  testify  to  it  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  in  no  other  call- 
ing I  would  have  had  the  same  inward  satisfaction,  which  I 
enjoyed  in  my  office  as  preacher  and  pastor.  Whether  you 
understand  me  or  not,  I  know,  that  in  the  pulpit  I  spent  my 
happiest  hours.  It  is  a  most  glorious  privilege  to  testify  of 
the  unspeakable  love  of  God,  to  encourage  the  souls  of  men 
to  take  hold  of  Christ  by  faith  and  to  walk  in  the  way  of  life. 
There  lies  behind  us  all  that  is  temporal,  worldly,  vain  and 
perishable,  deceptive  and  charming  to  the  senses.     There  the 


28 

power  of  truth  and  of  the  eternal  takes  hold  of  us.  The 
treasures  of  the  word  of  God  are  opened  up  to  us,  and  we  drink 
of  the  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life. 

VII.  IN  THE  MINISTERIUM  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 
On  June  17th,  1851,  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  Wm.  Julius  Mann, 
together  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  F.  Schaefer,  was  received  into 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
at  that  time  numbered  some  seventy  pastors.  The  Synod 
was  not  long  in  recognizing  the  value  of  the  acquisition  made 
by  his  reception,  and  beginning  with  that  very  year  we  find 
that  there  was  no  position  of  confidence  and  prominence  in 
Synod,  to  which  his  ministerial  brethren  did  not  cheerfully 
call  him.  On  the  most  important  points  the  action  of  Synod 
was  framed  and  moved  by  him.  He  was  charged  with  an 
explanation  of  Luther's  Catechism,  known  afterwards  under 
the  name  of  the  Benner  Catchism  (185  1).  During  the  winter 
1862  to  1863,  in  company  with  his  intimate  friend,  the  Rev. 
G.  F.  Krotel.  who,  to  his  great  joy  had  accepted  a  call  to  St. 
Mark's  English  Lutheran  Church  in  Philadelphia,  he  prepared 
another,  fuller  exposition  which  was  and  still  is  widely  used  by 
our  pastors  in  their  catechetical  instruction.  He  did  the  prin- 
cipal work  in  the  preparation  of  the  prayers  for  families  and 
individuals,  appended  to  the  Pennsylvania  Liturgy  of  1855. 
For  many  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  Examining  Com- 
mittee. In  1854  he  was  nominated  by  the  Synod  and  after- 
wards unanimously  elected  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  as 
German  Professor  in  Gettysburg.  He  was  himself  appointed 
one  of  the  Directors  of  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Gettys- 
burg, which  position  he  resigned  in  1859.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  for  the  German  Liturgy  and  also  of 
the  so  called  Orphan  Committee  ;  later  on  for  many  years  a 
faithful  Trustee  of  the  Orphans'  Home  in  Germantown.  In 
his  office  as  Archivarius  he  brought  order  into  the  chaotic 
mass  of  Synodical  papers  from  the  last  century  to  the  present 
time,  and  arranged  them  in  the  most  systematic  manner,  so 
that  it  has  become  an  easy  and  pleasant  task  for  the  students 


29 

of  our  history  to  handle  and  investigate  any  of  those  import- 
ant documents.  In  i860,  as  a  comparatively  young  man 
among  many  aged  fathers  he  was  elected  President,  and  most 
vigorously  did  he  in  his  very  first  official  report  stand  up  for 
order,  discipline,  and  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  Lutheranism, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extract : 

"  As  long  as  the  constitutions  of  many  congregations  open 
the  way  to  ecclesiastical  and  official  irregularities  ;  as  long  as 
our  church  members  have  unsettled  views  in  regard  to  what 
are  sound  Lutheran  and  churchly  principles  in  faith  and  prac- 
tice, and  in  regard  to  the  best  measures  for  effectually  pro- 
moting the  kingdom  of  God ;  as  long  as  ministers  differ  so 
widely  among  themselves  in  important  questions  relating  to 
the  sacred  office,  and  to  what  is  becoming  to  bearers  of  the 
same;  as  long  as  the  parts  appeal  to  their  rights  and  liberties, 
in  opposition  to  the  whole  and  to  its  spirit,  and  even  threaten 
to  secede,  at  pleasure,  from  Synod ;  and  finally,  as  long  as  our 
Conferences  do  not  exercise  an  authoritative  influence  in  regu- 
lating the  order  and  adjusting  the  local  difficulties  of  the  con- 
gregations belonging  to  them  ;  it  will  be  in  vain  to  expect  that 
the  office  of  the  President,  which  in  the  nature  of  the  case  is 
deprived  of  all  executive  power,  will  be  able  to  protect  the 
Synod  in  the  vigorous  maintenance  of  order  and  the  true  spirit 
of  Lutheranism,  no  matter  what  additional  prerogatives  you 
may  secure  to  it." 

In  the  difficult  and  delicate  questions  concerning  the  con- 
fessional position  of  the  Synod  and  the  rights  of  German  and 
English,  he  endeavored  to  act  as  a  mediator  between  extreme 
tendencies,  faithful  to  the  principle,  which  we  often  heard  from 
his  lips :  "  Republics  are  governed  by  compromises,"  and 
which,  in  those  earlier  years,  he  was  willing  also  to  apply  not 
only  to  questions  of  ecclesiastical  policy,  but  even  to  the  doc- 
trinal and  confessional  standing  of  the  Ministerium.  In 
1852  Synod  had  appointed  a  committee  to  report  "  on  the  sense 
in  which  this  Body  employs  the  expression  '  Confessions  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.'  "  At  the  meeting  in  Reading, 
1853,  Dr.  C.  F.  Schaefer  reported  in  behalf  of  this  committee. 


30 

He  gave  an  extended  historical  account  of  the  Confessions  and 
of  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  them,  and  closed  the  report 
with  a  resolution,  embodying  an  obligation  to  the  Confessions, 
clear,  unequivocal  and  without  reserve.  The  great  body  of 
the  members  were  prepared  for  themselves  to  adopt  it,  but  re- 
gard to  the  consciences  of  weaker  brethren  made  them  hesi- 
tate. At  this  point  Mr.  Mann  acted  as  mediator  for  the  time, 
offering  some  resolutions  which,  while  expressing  a  high  esti- 
mate of  the  Confessions,  did  not  really  give  them  a  positively 
obligatory  character.  They  were  unanimously  adopted.  Dr. 
C.  F.  Schaefer  in  his  bitter  disappointment  comforted  himself 
with  the  thought,  that  the  action  of  Synod  was  "suited  to  a 
state  of  reconvalescence,  and  a  flattering  indication  that  the 
Apostles'  strong  meat  could  soon  be  safely  substituted  for 
milk."  (See  memorial  of  Chas.  Fred.  Schaefer,  D.D.,  published 
by  the  Alumni  Association,  1880.  Also  "The  Confession  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,"  by  Chas.  F.  Schaeffer,  D.D., 
Evangelical  Review,  Oct.  1853,  Page  189,  ff.) 

In  1856  Mr.  Mann  presented  to  the  Ministerium  an  import- 
ant paper  "  On  the  Ministerial  Office,"  in  which  he  took  strong 
ground  against  the  system  of  Licensure  as  heretofore  prac- 
ticed in  Synod,  proving  its  unscriptural  and  unlutheran  char- 
acter. This  led  to  the  abolishment  of  this  whole  institution  on 
the  motion  of  Rev.  G.  F.  Krotel  (1857)  "That  in  future  the 
Ministerium  consist  only  of  ordained  ministers,  and  all  worthy 
applicants  be  admitted  to  ordination." 

VIII.  IN  THE  GENERAL  SYNOD. 
In  1 853,  two  years  after  Mr.  Mann's  reception  into  the  Synod 
of  Pennsylvania,  this  body  resumed  its  official  connection  with 
the  General  Synod,  and  during  the  short  period  of  this  re- 
union, 1 85 3-1 866,  we  find  his  name  prominent  among  the 
delegates  who  represented  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  at 
the  conventions  of  the  General  Synod.  He  was  elected  in 
1853  for  the  meeting  in  Winchester,  Va.  The  journey  to  and 
first  sight  of  Virginia,  the  entertainment  in  Mr.  Jacob  Baker's 
family,  the  intercourse  with   Drs.  Chas.   Philip    Krauth    and 


31 

H.  I.  Schmidt  were  a  source  of  much  delight  to  him.  He 
seemed  inclined  to  take  rather  a  hopeful  view  of  the  prospects 
of  Lutheranism  within  the  General  Body  which  certainly  at 
that  time  was  nearer  than  ever  to  the  realization  of  those 
ardent  expectations,  which  looked  for  a  speedy  union  of  all 
Lutherans  in  one  common  organization.  "  There  is,"  says  his 
diary,  "a  great  deal  of  indefiniteness  and  obscurity  on  distinc- 
tive Lutheran  principles,  with  an  undeniable  desire  for  unity. 
The  Methodistic  tendency  is  declining  and  the  leaders  of  that 
movement  are  losing  their  influence."  To  Dr.  Ph.  Schaff  he 
writes  (see  Kirchenfreund,  1853,  p.  282):  "  I  rejoiced  before 
over  the  reunion  of  our  old  Pennsylvania  Synod  with  the 
General  Synod,  and  now  I  rejoice  even  more.  The  value  of 
the  thing  I  do  not  find  in  the  resolutions  of  the  General 
Synod  whatever  they  may  be.  It  is  at  any  rate  without 
truly  organizing  authority.  Nor  do  I  fail  to  appreciate  the  im- 
portant influence  which  this  body  must  exercise  through  its 
missionary  and  education  society.  "  There  must  be  a  greater 
future  for  the  General  Synod  and  the  Lutheran  Church,  if 
calmness,  dignity,  forbearance  and  charity  will  continue  to 
reign.  For  the  present  the  most  important  thing  to  me  is  the 
influence  which  such  an  assembly  of  representatives  of  so 
many  parts  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country  must  ex- 
ercise in  itself.  Such  a  large  convention  impresses  you  with 
the  importance  of  the  Lutheran  branch  on  the  tree  of  God's 
kingdom.  It  inspires  courage  to  see  such  a  concentration  of 
prominent,  personal  abilities.  You  find  that  the  Church  com- 
mands a  considerable  force  of  intelligence,  culture,  learning 
and  talent.  You  feel  that  however  much  they  may  differ  in 
their  personal  aims  and  preferences,  they  are  all  one  in  their 
hearty  love  for  the  Church  of  Luther.  Brethren  have  an  op- 
portunity of  mingling  in  close  intercourse  and  coming  to  a 
better  understanding,  and  whoever  has  his  eyes  opened  and  is 
able  to  compare  the  past  and  the  present  may  learn  within  a 
few  days,  to  his  astonishment,  which  direction  the  main  current 
of  churchly  Lutheran  life  will  take  in  the  future.  Altogether 
tkere  is  abundant  opportunity  given  in  these  days  to  find  out 


32 

the  folly  of  those,  who  while  in  vain  trying  to  hold  on  to  ex- 
treme positions,  spend  their  strength  in  favor  of  stereotyping 
certain  things  in  the  Church  which  have  outlived  themselves 
within  one  generation.  The  narrow  traditional  conceptions  of 
Christianity  are  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  Church  of  Christ 
must  not  be  turned  either  into  a  Procrustean  bed,  nor  into  a 
couch  of  laziness.  We  can  certainly  observe  on  all  sides  a  spirit  of 
inquiry  after  clear,  solid  principles  for  a  truly  religious  and 
churchly  life.  And  we  find  in  it  a  testimony  that  Protestantism 
is  able  to  renew  its  strength,  because  it  does  not  acknowledge, 
either  in  life  or  in  doctrine,  the  miserable  principle  of  perfection 
which  excludes  improvement.  If  I  may  add  one  word  yet  with 
reference  to  our  transactions  in  Winchester,  I  must  say  that 
they  were  pervaded  by  a  delightful  spirit  of  dignity  and  charity 
which  springs  from  the  fact  that  we  breathe  a  higher  life,  that 
we  are  conscious  of  the  sacredness  of  our  cause  and  that  we 
mutually  respect  each  other." 

At  the  next  convention  "of  the  General  Synod  in  Dayton, 
Ohio  (1855),  Mr.  Mann  was  present,  not  however  as  a  delegate, 
but  simply  as  a  visitor  for  about  two  days.  He  wrote  a  very 
full  account  of  his  impressions  in  the  Kirchenfreund  {Blaetter 
aits  dem  Wanderbuche,  1855,  p.  385  f.) :  "I  have  no  desire," 
he  says,  "  to  add  anything  to  the  judgments  of  praise  or  blame 
bestowed  upon  this  convention.  If  denominationalism  is  a 
praise,  it  has  proved  itself  highly  wprthy  of  it.  These  people 
mean  it  well  enough  with  the  Lutheran  Church  after  their  own 
fashion.  They  are  anxious  that  she  should  be  improved  by 
enlarging  her  territory  as  much  as  possible ;  that  nothing 
should  be  lost  of  the  material  which  she  can  claim  by  right  of 
history  and  nationality,  but  that  her  members  should  be  gath- 
ered, missionary  work  carried  on  among  them,  congregations 
organized  and  churches  built.  There  is  a  great  zeal  to  expand 
the  denomination,  to  make  it  large  and  respectable  as  it  natu- 
rally ought  to  be  considering  the  vast  material  of  immigrant  and 
native  Lutherans.  But  alas  !  as  if  the  '  nomen '  were  everything  ! 
Certainly  the  name  is  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  the 
General  Synod.     It  is  simply  used  as  the  watchword  for  a 


33 

party,  and  being  less  concerned  about  the  Lutheran  character 
of  the  doctrinal  principles  thus  adopted,  some  take  their  cor- 
rectness for  granted  without  further  examination,  while  others 
even  revel  in  the  delightful  confidence  of  having  corrected  the 
Lutheran  Church.  The  majority  of  pastors  have  never  made 
an  independent  study  of  the  dogmatical  peculiarities  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  They  are,  according  to  American  custom, 
completely  dependent  on  the  views  of  the  teachers  to  whom 
they  owe  their  theological  education.  If  these  teachers  them- 
selves have  strayed  away  from  the  peculiarly  Lutheran  doctrine, 
anything  is  offered  as  Lutheran  doctrine,  that  with  the  slight- 
est modification  might  just  as  well  go  forth  into  the  world 
under  any  other  name.  Thus  it  happened,  that  through  the 
lamentable  lack  of  Lutheran  educational  institutions  in  this 
country,  the  Lutheran  Church  was  most  insufficiently  repre- 
sented as  to  her  spirit  and  doctrine.  She  had  to  suffer  greatly 
through  foreign  influences,  which  were  neither  German  nor 
Lutheran,  and  against  which  she  could  not  properly  defend 
herself.  She  seemed  to  be  judged  and  defeated,  before  she 
had  even  opened  her  mouth,  and,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  in  those 
days  even  in  the  German  Fatherland,  things  had  taken  such  a 
turn  that  the  most  hollow  rationalism  still  boasted  of  Luther's 
name.  But  now  a  desire  gradually  manifested  itself  to  gain 
popularity  for  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country.  The 
hard  dogmatical  knots  of  the  old  Lutheran  oak  were  to  give 
way  under  the  Puritan  plane.  The  body  was  deprived  of  its 
bones  and  its  heart  and  the  empty  skin  might  be  filled  with 
whatever  was  most  pleasing,  if  only  the  Lutheran  name  was 
retained !  The  statement  of  the  seventh  article  of  the  Augs- 
burg Confession,  that  "  unto  the  true  unity  of  the  Church  it  is 
not  necessary  that  human  traditions,  rites  or  ceremonies  insti- 
tuted by  men  should  be  alike  everywhere,"  was  most  exten- 
sively used,  and  in  their  desire  to  make  the  Lutheran  Church 
as  nearly  as  possible  like  others,  her  leaders  were  much  more 
ready  to  adopt  foreign  elements  than  to  retain  her  own  dis- 
tinctive features.  Thus  the  Liturgy,  the  ancient  lessons  of 
Gospels  and  Epistles,  the  festivals  of  the  Church  Year,  the  gown 


34 

and  other  usages  were  given  up,  in  order  to  keep  the  peculiar 
and  distinctive  features  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  back- 
ground. Hoping  to  gain  others  they  lost  themselves.  The 
Lutheran  Church  had  given  away  her  own  spirit,  and  that  was 
paramount  to  her  own  original  life  and  character. 

"The  more  we  present  to  ourselves  a  true  picture  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country,  the  more  do  we 
find  this  development  natural.  No  one  is  particularly  to  be 
blamed.  It  is  the  common  misfortune  of  times  and  circum- 
stances. Least  of  all  should  we  discredit  the  labor  and  merit 
of  those  who  tried  to  obtain  for  the  Lutheran  Church  educa- 
tional institutions  '  of  her  own  and  thus  to  secure  her  future. 
It  was  a  beginning  such  as  the  circumstances  permitted.  But 
if  at  the  present  time  men  bar  themselves  against  the  great 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  life  of  the  Church  ;  if 
they  oppose  the  self-consciousness  of  their  Church  and  her 
assertion  of  her  own  original  individuality  ;  if  they  fail  to  ap- 
preciate the  exegetical  and  dogmatical  deepening  of  the  present 
positive  theology;  particularly  if,  from  conceit  or  indolence, 
they  ignore  the  blessing  which  God  in  this  sphere  has  given 
to  the  German  Church  and  to  the  churchly  theology  of  our 
days,  they  incur  a  great  responsibility.  And  certainly  the 
manner  in  which  during  the  past  decade  even  the  Lutheran 
Church,  neglecting  her  own  particular  blessings  and  aping  that 
which  was  foreign  to  her,  tried  to  '  make  Christianity  and 
Christians,'  has  found  its  own  condemnation  with  all  its  im- 
proper extravagances,  and  the  moral  judgment  of  everybody 
ought  to  refuse  henceforth  to  sing  the  praises  of  those  measures. 
Now,  if  the  General  Synod  of  the  Lutheran  Church  would 
understand  this  present  time,  if  it  would  not  resist  the  churchly 
current,  but  raise  its  voice  in  the  spirit  of  true  Lutheranism 
and  lay  down  principles  by  which  it  would  confess  itself  as 
truly  Lutheran,  without  ignoring  or  destroying  the  character- 
istic features  of  Lutheranism,  it  would  have  a  much  greater 
moral  weight  and  could  become  a  centre  of  strong  and  far- 

lSuch  as  the  College  and  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Gettysburg, 
which  owe  so  much  to  the  labors  of  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker. 


35 

reaching  influence.  To  give  expression  to  certain  general 
Christian  principles,  may  be  sufficient  as  a  confession  of  ad- 
herence to  Christianity  at  large,  but  it  is  far  from  satisfactory 
where  the  connection  with  a  distinct  historical  Church  is  at 
stake. 

"  Will  the  General  Synod  ever  come  to  this  ?  Or  should  we 
keep  aloof  from  it  until  it  has  come  to  this?  We  cannot  ex- 
pect a  sudden  change.  Is  there  then  no  blessing  whatever  in 
it  ?  Or  is  the  position  of  our  so  called  Old  Lutherans  the  only 
possible  and  correct  one  ?  They  came  to  this  country  from  a 
state  of  oppression  and  even  persecution  in  their  German 
homes.  No  wonder  that  some  bitterness  has  grown  up  here 
and  there.  Now  they  are  here;  no  one  oppresses  them. 
They  find  a  Lutheran  Church  which  has  managed  to  keep  alive 
under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances.  Having  had  no 
strictly  Lutheran  organization  from  the  very  beginning,  she  has 
lost  much  that  is  Lutheran  under  a  powerful  pressure  from 
without.  Now  they  repel  their  sister  who  has  grown  up  under 
such  influences.  They  have  themselves  passed  through  many 
a  sad  and  humiliating  experience ;  but  they  at  the  same  time 
are  in  advance  of  us  in  strict  adherence  to  the  confession, 
churchly  practices,  discipline,  etc.  But  now  they  have  no 
patience  with  their  weaker  sister,  no  charitable  regard  for  her 
historical  and  other  surroundings  ;  they  utterly  refuse  to  have 
communion  with  her.  They  recognize  in  her  neither  a 
Lutheran  Confession,  nor  Synod,  nor  congregation.  They 
act  as  if  there  had  never  been  a  Lutheran  Church  in  this 
country  before  their  arrival  Brethren,  is  this  the  right  way? 
Thus  we  remain  strangers  to  each  other,  instead  of  the  stronger 
ones  showing  patience  with  the  weakness  of  their  weaker 
brethren,  and  having  an  influence  for  good  upon  them  by  their 
sympathy  and  assistance.  Besides,  with  such  absolute  seclu- 
sion, as  men  are,  there  will  also  be  found  human  erring  through' 
a  one-sidedness  and  harshness  which  is  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  the  Gospel." 

As  the  paper  from  which  the  above  extracts  are  taken  was 
passing  through  the  press,  Mr.  Mann  received  a  little  anony- 
3 


36 

mous  pamphlet  which  created  a  great  commotion  in  the 
Lutheran  Church  of  those  days,  and  which,  if  we  are  not  very- 
much  mistaken,  had  a  very  decided  influence  upon  Mr.  Mann 
himself,  in  developing  his  own  Lutheran  consciousness  and 
bringing  him  forward  as  an  outspoken  champion  of  the  Lutheran 
Confession  without  reserve  and  compromise.  The  pamphlet 
in  question  was  the  "  Definite  Platform,  Doctrinal  and  Disci- 
plinarian, for  Evangelical  Lutheran  District  Synods ;  con- 
structed in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  General  Sy- 
nod." Every  sentence  of  the  work,  as  the  author  ten  years  after- 
wards publicly  admitted,  was  written  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker, 
the  professor  of  dogmatics  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
General  Synod,  at  Gettysburg.  This  "  American  Recension  " 
of  the  Augsburg  Confession  coolly  charged  that  venerable 
document,  the  Magna  Charta  of  Protestantism,  with  a  number 
of  grave  errors,  and  changed  or  mutilated  twelve  out  of  its  twen- 
ty-one doctrinal  articles,  omitting  altogether  the  second  part  of 
the  Confession,  the  seven  Articles  on  Abuses.  The  "  Plat- 
form "  raised  a  storm  of  indignation  on  all  sides.  It  opened 
the  eyes  even  of  the  indifferent  and  undecided  ones  and  caused 
them  to  reflect  and  to  realize  the  ultimate  designs  of  the 
men  at  the  helm  of  the  General  Synod.  Many  men  who  were 
before  numbered  with  the  "  American  Lutherans,"  and  whose 
full  sympathy  with  the  movement  was  confidently  expected, 
had  nothing  but  stern  rebuke  for  it.  In  Mr.  Mann's  case  it 
certainly  helped  to  define  forever  his  confessional  position.  It 
at  once  aroused  the  German  and  the  Lutheran  in  him.  In 
bitter  irony  he  exclaimed :  "  Surely,  ye  are  the  men  to  master 
Magister  Philippus  and  Doctor  Martinus  and  to  give  us  a  new 
revision  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  a  reconstruction  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  based  upon  it !  "  And  in  a  short  review 
of  the  little  pamphlet  he  reminded  those  who  undertook  the 
"recension"  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  of  the  royal  advice, 
written  in  2  Sam.  10:  5.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  with  these 
impromptu  outbursts  of  indignation  against  the  Platform.  He 
wrote,  what  is  generally  admitted  to  be,  its  strongest  theologi- 
cal  refutation,  under  the  title:    "A   Plea  for  the  Augsburg 


37 

Confession  in  answer  to  the  objections  of  the  Definite  Plat- 
form :  an  address  to  all  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Church  of  the  United  States,  by  W.J.  Mann,  pastor  of  St. 
Michael's  and  Zion's  Churches,  Philadelphia.  '  The  truth  shall 
make  you  free.'  Jesus  Christ.  For  the  Lutheran  Board  of 
Publication.     Philadelphia:   Lindsay  &  Blakiston,  1856." 

The,exact  history  of  the  origin  of  this  little  pamphlet  of  47 
pages  is  thus  related  by  a  member  of  the  Publication  Board 
itself:  "  One  day  during  a  friendly  colloquium  the  conversa- 
tion turned  on  the  Definite  Synodical  Platform.  This  docu- 
ment had  come  to  us  anonymously,  bearing  no  visible  sign  or 
mark  to  indicate  its  origin.  Not  to  converse  about  a  docu- 
ment so  shrouded  in  mystery  would  be  stranger  than  the  docu- 
ment itself.  At  this  fraternal  colloquium  Rev.  Mr.  Mann 
expressed  his  views  on  the  Augsburg  Confession.  At  the 
close  of  his  remarks  one  of  the  Board  (the  Rev.  E.  W.  Hutter 
pastor  of  St.  Matthew's  English  Lutheran  Congregation)  re- 
marked :  '  What  a  pity  we  have  not  a  stenographer  in  our 
midst,  to  take  down  the  remarks  of  brother  Mann.'  Follow- 
ing up  this  merely  incidental  remark,  Rev.  Dr.  Stork  moved 
that  brother  Mann  be  requested  to  write  out  and  submit  to 
the  Board  his  remarks,  which  was  agreed  to.  One  week  later 
Rev.  Mann  brought  the  manuscript  sheets  of  his  little  volume  ; 
they  were  read  and  that  bi  other  himself  proposed  to  issue  the 
work  on  his  own  responsibility,  without  the  imprint  of 
the  Board.  From  some  of  the  views  asserted  by  the  writer 
several  of  the  Board  openly  dissented ;  and,  to  avoid  their  ob- 
jections, a  portion  of  the  work  was  rewritten  by  the  author. 
It  was  only  then  ordered  to  be  printed."  The  subsequent 
refusal  of  the  Board  to  publish  Professor  S.  S.  Schmucker's 
reply,  of  course,  brought  upon  them  the  indignation  of  the 
author  of  the  Platform.  But  the  Board  had  very  good  reason 
for  its  refusal;  it  was  unwilling  to  stultify  itself  by  lending  a 
helping  hand  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Platform  movement. 
And  in  the  month  of  September,  1856,  Mr.  Mann  received  the 
title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the  Trustees  of  Pennsylvania 
College,  Gettysburg. 


38 

His  answer,  in  recognition  of  that  title,  was  a  little  book  of 
152  pages,  "  Lutheranism  in  America  :  an  essay  on  the  present 
condition  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  "  The 
German  manuscript  of  the  original  was  translated  into  English 
by  his  colleague  in  the  pastorate  of  Zion's  Church,  the  Rev. 
G.  A.  Wenzel.  With  the  impartiality  of  the  true  historian,  Dr. 
Mann  first  describes  the  various  prevailing  tendencies,  etc., 
which,  at  that  time,  laid  claim  to  the  name  Lutheran  :  The  left 
wing,  American  Lutheranism  ;  the  right  wing,  the  Lutherans 
of  a  strictly  symbolical  tendency;  and  the  centre.  This  is 
followed  by  a  presentation  of  the  spirit  and  life  of  our  Church 
in  America  during  the  last  century.  The  concluding  remarks 
treat  of  the  mission  of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  some  " pia 
desidcria"  While  moderate  and  forbearing  towards  his  theo- 
logical antagonists,  the  author  comes  out  manfully  in  defense 
of  the  Lutheran  Confession.  "  That  invaluable  treasure,  our 
Faith,  for  which  our  fathers  struggled,  and  suffered,  and 
watched,  and  prayed,  we  will  not  expose  to  the  fluctuating 
spirit  of  the  age,  which  has  already  gained  an  undue  influence 
over  the  theology  of  our  times,  nor  to  the  arbitrary  disposal 
of  individuals.  Every  alteration  now  effected  in  our  Church 
doctrines  is  not  a  creative  act,  by  which  the  Church  would  first 
be  established.  The  old  Confession,  which  is  co-existent  with 
the  Church,  is  that  act  which  binds  and  unites  the  Church,  and 
every  alteration  makes  the  foundation  of  the  Church  insecure, 
and  the  consequence  must  be  that  her  religious  life  also  must 
become  unsettled  and  wavering"  (p.  150,  f). 

In  1859  he  again  represented  his  Ministerium  as  one  of  the 
delegates  to  the  General  Synod's  convention  in  Pittsburg. 
In  some  respects  this  meeting  presented  a  prelude  to  what  was 
to  come  five  years  afterward  in  York.  The  question  of  admit- 
ting the  Melanchthon  Synod  greatly  agitated  the  General 
Body.  This  Synod  had  been  recently  formed  by  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Maryland  Synod,  who  gathered  around  Dr.  Benja- 
min Kurtz  on  the  ground  of  "  elective  affinity,"  and  who  repre- 
sented an  advanced  American  Lutheranism.  There  was  just 
reason  to  doubt  both  the  regularity  of  the  formation  of  this 


39 

Synod  and  its  acceptance  of  the  faith  of  the  Church.  Dr.  W. 
J.  Mann  was  prominent  in  opposing  the  admission  of  this 
Synod,  which  had  practically,  though  not  formally,  substituted 
the  Definite  Platform  for  the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  was 
Dr.  Chas.  Porterfield  Krauth  who,  in  the  case  of  the  Melanch- 
thon  Synod,  for  the  last  time,  acted  as  a  liberal  mediator,  in 
the  interest  of  forbearance  and  compromise  in  the  General 
Synod.  He  moved  to  admit  the  Melanchthon  Synod  with  the 
request,  that  it  should  express  officially  its  "  adhesion  to  the 
principles  of  Synodical  division  recognized  by  the  General 
Synod,"  and  also  with  a  fraternal  solicitation  "  to  consider 
whether  a  change,  in  their  doctrinal  basis,  of  the  paragraph  in 
regard  to  certain. alleged  errors,  would  not  tend  to  the  promo- 
tion of  mutual  love  and  the  furtherance  of  the  great  objects  for 
which  we  are  laboring  together."1  The  Pennsylvania  delega- 
tion, headed  by  Dr.  Mann,  reported  to  the  Ministerium  on  this 
point  as  follows :  "  The  admission  of  the  Melanchthon  Synod 
was  opposed  by  your  representatives,  for  the  reason  that  its 
application  was  connected  with  a  certain  confession  of  faith 
which  appeared  to  us  to  come  into  conflict  with  the  Unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession.  Yet  as  the  same  Synod  was  at  the 
time  of  its  admission  earnestly  requested  to  withdraw  its  offen- 
sive confession,  as  far  as  it  contained  aspersions  against  the 
Confession  of  our  Church,  it  is  hoped  that  said  document  will 
in  due  time  be  withdrawn."  Dr.  Mann's  own  impressions  of 
this  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  were  not  as  favorable  as  in 
former  times.  He  foresaw  the  storm  that  was  brewing. 
"  With  much  apparent  willingness  to  concede,"  says  his  diary, 
"  there  were  in  reality  no  concessions.  I  did  not  leave  with 
very  hopeful  feelings." 

This  was- the  last  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  which  Dr. 
Mann  attended.  He  was  not  present  in  York,  in  1864,  when, 
on  the  reception  of  the  Franckean  Synod,  the  Pennsylvania 
delegates  withdrew  from  the  Convention,  to  report  to  their 
Ministerium.      Nor  was  he  at  the  memorable  meeting  in  Fort 

1  Dr.  Krauth's  explanation  of  his  position  in  this  case  is  found  in 
"  First  Free  Lutheran  Diet  in  America,"  page  142. 


40 

Wayne,  in  1866,  where  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  declared 
to  be  "  out  of  practical  relations  "  with  the  General  Synod. 
But  when  the  final  question  of  withdrawing  from  the  General 
Synod  and  forming  a  new  General  Body  on  a  positively  Lutheran 
basis  came  up,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ministerium 
in  Lancaster,  1866,  Dr.  Mann  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
into  whose  hands  the  whole  matter  was  given.  His  own  judg- 
ment and  the  action  originally  proposed  by  the  committee  did 
not  go  quite  as  far  as  the  Synod  finally  decided.  The  recom- 
mendation was  simply  to  appoint  a  committee  "  to  correspond 
with  other  Lutheran  Synods  with  reference  to  the  propriety 
of  calling  a  convention  of  such  Lutheran  Synods,  churches  and 
individuals  as  may  be  favorable  to  the  organization  of  a  general 
ecclesiastical  body,  on  a  truly  Lutheran  basis."  But  the  Synod 
went  beyond  this  in  appointing  a  committee  which  should  at 
once  "  prepare  and  issue  a  fraternal  address  "  containing  an  in- 
vitation "  to  unite  in  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
union  of  Lutheran  Synods."  Dr.  Mann  always  had  his  doubts 
about  the  wisdom  of  this  step,  and  subsequent  events  could 
easily  be  construed  as  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  his 
view.  With  his  natural  caution  and  prudence  he  was  not  very 
enthusiastic  in  favor  of  "  leaving  one  shore  without  knowing 
where  and  how  a  landing  could  be  effected."  "  The  man  who 
leaves  one  shore  without  seeing  the  shore  on  the  other  side 
always  puts  himself  in  a  difficult  predicament."  Still, 
waiving  his  personal  doubts  and  difficulties,  he  loyally  served 
his  Ministerium  in  bringing  about  the  desired  union  of 
Synods. 

In  an  extensive  and  popular  article  {Lutherische  Zcitsclirift, 
Nov.  17,  1866),  entitled,  "  What  is  at  stake?  "  (Urn  was  es  sich 
handelt),  he  reviews  the  whole  controversy  between  the  con- 
fessional party  led  by  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  un- 
lutheran  majority  of  the  General  Synod.  "  The  rupture,"  he 
says,  "  had  been  coming  for  a  long  time.  It  has  simply 
brought  to  light  the  fact  that  without  true  inward  unity  an  out- 
ward union  has  no  value.  The  very  fact  that  men  are  willing 
to  forbear,  proves  that  they  have  much  to  bear  in  each  other- 


41 

On  the  surface  they  profess  to  love  each  other,  but  in  the 
heart  they  are  afraid  of  each  other.  They  are  bound  together 
and  yet  separated  from  each  other.  The  whole  thing  is  tainted 
with  a  lack  of  inward  truthfulness.  And  this  puts  upon  it  the 
seal  of  condemnation.  Neither  party  has  what  it  really  desires. 
But  either  party  is  anxious  to  be  at  the  helm  and  the  party 
having  least  of  true  moral  feeling  and  honor  will  be  least 
scrupulous  in  the  choice  of  nieans  by  which  it  may  be  strength- 
ened numerically  and  otherwise 

"  What  then  is  the  aim  of  the  conservative  Lutheran  side  ? 
It  wants  nothing  but  to  keep  the  Lutheran  Church  Lutheran, 
and  to  preserve  what  is  peculiar  to  her  in  doctrine  and  forms 
of  worship.  What  does  the  unlutheran  party  aim  at?  It 
means  to  rob  the  Lutheran  Church  of  this  country  more 
and  more  of  what  is  peculiar  to  her  and  to  make  it  as 
nearly  as  possible  Reformed.  It  is  true,  they  have  not  yet 
given  up  the  Lutheran  name,  but  they  have  already  manufac- 
tured an  appendix  to  it.  We  should  not  wonder  if  the 
Lutheran  name  even  would  be  dropped  entirely.  This  would 
certainly  be  more  honest.  But  of  course,  we  have  no  assur- 
ance that  this  will  be  done. 

"This  certainly  is  the  peculiar  feature  of  the  unlutheran  party, 
that  it  is  essentially  addicted  to  Reformed  views.  Dr.  S.  S. 
Schmucker  has  for  a  long  time  professed  views  which  are  in 
manifest  conflict  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Lutheran  Confessions, 
while  they  agree  with  that  of  the  Reformed  Confessions,  espe- 
cially with  the  Zwinglian  type.  In  this  spirit  many  of  his 
publications  are  written,  and  in  this  spirit  for  many,  many  years 
he  has  been  teaching  as  professor  in  a  Lutheran  Seminary. 
He  is  animated  by  a  Reformed-Zwinglian  spirit,  and  has  en- 
deavored to  make  his  pupils  of  the  same  mind.  To  him  and 
to  them  the  truly  Lutheran  conception  of  Christianity  has 
never  been  revealed.  He  himself  has  not  the  slightest  sym- 
pathy with  it. 

"  The  question  then  for  us  Lutherans  in  this  country  at  the 
present  time  is  simply  this :  Shall  our  Lutheran  Church  abide 
by  her  old  original  Confession,  by  her  original  understanding  of 


42 

the  word  of  God,  or  shall  she  give  it  up  and  adopt  on  her  part 
the  doctrines  of  Zwingli  and  of  the  Reformed  Church  ?  " 

IX.    IN  THE   GENERAL   COUNCIL- 

In  the  first  steps  toward  the  formation  of  the  General  Coun- 
cil Dr.  Mann  took  an  active  and  sympathetic  part.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  which,  in  behalf  of  the  mother 
Synod,  sent  out  the  fraternal  appeal,  calling  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  body  on  a  positively  Lutheran  basis.  He 
attended  the  preliminary  convention  in  Reading,  December, 
1866,  which  deliberated  on  the  fundamental  articles  of  faith 
and  Church  polity  forming  the  basis  of  the  General  Council. 
Soon  after  the  Reading  Convention  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Dr. 
Schaff :  "  Whatever  is  worth  doing,  is  worth  doing  well,  and 
if  we  want  to  be  Lutherans  we  will  be  consistent  ex  anitno 
Lutherans  and  not  Lutherans  with  the  mere  sham  of  the  name. 
These  were  my  thoughts  concerning  the  convention  in  Read- 
ing. It  is  the  greatest  nonsense  to  attempt  in  behalf  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  to  run  a  race  with  Methodists  or  Presby- 
terians, as  our  new-Lutheran  brethren,  who  bear  the  name,  are 
doing,  proclaiming  it  as  the  most  glorious  feature  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  that  she  had  no  character  of  her  own,  but 
could  be  turned  and  twisted,  in  life  and  doctrine,  like  a  wet 
rag  or  a  nose  of  wax.  In  taking  this  position  we  do  not  con- 
tend for  the  old  scholastic  views  or  the  dogmatic  pugilism  of  the 
fierce  old  champions  of  Lutheranism.  But  true  it  is  those 
fellows  were  men  of  clear  heads,  strong  will  and  decided  char- 
acter."    (January  2,  1867.) 

Dr.  Mann  went  to  Fort  Wayne  in  November,  1867,  as  a 
delegate  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  to  the  first  convention  of 
the  General  Council,  and  sent  an  interesting  correspondence 
on  the  proceedings  to  Brobst's  Lutherische  Zeitschrift  (Nov. 
23  and  30,  1867). 

"  The  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,"  he  says,  "  knew  well  enough 
what  the  Church  needed.  She  had  a  right  to  expect  that 
other  Synods  would  be  found  in  close  spiritual  affinity  with 
herself,  which  would  be  ready  to  enter  into  more  intimate  re- 


43 

lations  with  her.  In  this  she  was  not  mistaken,  and  in  the 
month  of  December  (12th  to  14th)  of  last  year  delegates  of 
different  Synods,  from  the  East  and  West,  met  and  united  in 
the  adoption  of  a  number  of  fundamental  articles  of  faith  and 
Church  polity  and  prepared  the  draft  of  a  constitution  for  a  new 
union  of  Synods  on  the  basis  of  our  Lutheran  Confession,  as 
we  have  received  it  from  our  fathers  of  the  Reformation  time 
and  as  they  themselves  understood  and  interpreted  it. 

"Of  course  this  was  by  far  not  all.  The  point  now  was  that 
the  various  Synods  which  had  been  represented  in  Reading 
by  delegates,  or  other  Synods  as  such,  should  formally  accept 
the  articles  and  constitution,  adopted  in  Reading,  as  the  basis 
of  the  general  representative  body,  and  thus  organize  the 
General  Council  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  This  is  necessary 
if  we  are  really  to  work  together  for  the  common  interests  of 
our  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country.  We  must  guard  the 
Church  against  the  corruption  of  the  Lutheran  Confession, 
gather  well-ordered  congregations  in  our  cities  and  in  the 
country,  secure  for  them  good  pastors,  sound  in  the  faith  and 
well  educated  and  equipped  for  their  work  ;  provide  for  the 
congregations  the  right  kind  of  prayer-books,  hymn-books  and 
a  sound  religious  literature  ;  and  carry  on  the  work  of  foreign 
missions.  Truly  there  is  plenty  of  work  in  every  direction, 
and  such  work  as  can  only  be  accomplished  by  the  coopera- 
tion of  truly  Lutheran  Synods  that  are  of  the  same  mind. 

"  With  this  a  beginning  has  been  made.  It  is  true,  by  far 
not  all  the  Lutheran  Synods  of  this  country  are  represented 
in  Fort  Wayne.  The  Lutheran  Church  of  the  South  is  not 
here.  Of  course  the  Synods  belonging  to  the  old  General 
Synod  are  absent.  What  should  they  want  to  do  here  ?  who 
only  care  to  be  called,  but  vigorously  refuse  to  be,  Lutherans. 
But  we  are  in  reality  more  anxious  to  be  truly  Lutheran  and  to 
believe  the  true  Lutheran  doctrine,  than  simply  to  be  called  so. 
We  miss  also  the  Missourians,  those  indefatigable  champions 
of  our  Lutheran  Church  in  the  West,  who  so  faithfully  resist 
the  destructive  tendencies  of  the  spirit  of  the  age.  They  are 
absent,  because,  as  we  are  now,  we  cannot  come  up  to  their 


44 

high  standard  of  churchly  doctrine  and  life.  Others  we  miss 
whom  we  would  like  to  see  with  us.  Perhaps  we  may  yet 
be  granted  the  joy  of  having  them  with  us. 

"  But  all  the  more  heartily  do  we  rejoice  over  those  who  are 
with  us  and  keep  to  us.  There  are  men  here  from  far  and 
near.  Here  are  our  native  American  brethren,  in  whose 
hearts  the  genuine  faith  of  our  old  German  Luther  is  living. 
Here  are  we,  the  immigrant  children  of  this  country,  called 
to  cooperate  in  the  building  of  the  spiritual  temple  if  we  are 
to  enjoy  its  blessings  without  being  ashamed  of  ourselves. 
Here  are  brethren  from  the  centre  of  our  country  and  brethren 
from  the  East;  and  brethren  from  the  far  West  and  North- 
west. And  we  understand  each  other.  We  have  a  heart  for 
each  other.  We  must  deal  honorably  and  faithfully  with  each 
other.  Candor,  freedom,  truth  must  reign,  otherwise  no 
progress,  no  blessing  can  be  expected.  It  is  a  peculiar  feature 
of  this  Convention  that  brethren,  with  whom,  thus  far,  the 
German  has  been  almost  exclusively  the  Synodical  language, 
are  thrown  together  with  a  circle,  in  which,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  English  enjoys  the  same  rights  with  the  German. 
One  result  is,  that  the  discussions  are  carried  on  strictly  after 
the  parliamentary  rules,  acknowledged  by  all  English  speak- 
ing church  conventions.  Brethren,  who  have  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  this,  receive  new  impressions.  The  historical 
development  of  church-life  in  our  country  is  thus  clearly  set 
before  our  eyes. 

"  It  is  manifest,  how  important  it  is  that  justice  should  be 
done  to  the  English  interests,  without  abandoning  what  has 
hitherto  been  recognized  as  Lutheran  principle  in  faith  and 
life.  No  doubt,  we  have  entered  upon  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  critical  periods  in  the  history  of  our  Lutheran 
Church  in  this  country.  The  West  has  gained  an  importance 
for  our  Church,  which  no  one  could  have  divined  twenty 
years  ago.  And  yet  we  are  only  in  the  beginnings,  in  this 
respect.  We  see  how  much  depends  on  this,  that  the  General 
Council  should  stand  in  the  nearest  and  kindliest  relations 
possible  to   the  German   Lutherans    in  the  West  and  should 


45 

cooperate  hand  in  hand  with  tbem  in  the  great  work  which 
the  Lord  has  committed  to  us. 

"  It  is  true,  in  attending  the  sessions  of  this  Council,  we  can- 
not but  feel,  that,  while  there  is  much  unanimity  with  refer- 
ence to  the  fundamental  articles  of  faith  and  church  polity, 
the  principles  prevailing  with  reference  to  many  practical 
questions,  differ  greatly.  The  East  with  its  church-life  rests 
on  a  history.  It  is  not  laying  the  foundation,  as  the  brethren 
in  the  West  are  doing,  who  found  there  a  tabula  rasa,  on  un- 
occupied territory.  We  in  the  East  have  to  build  upon  the 
churchly  foundation  which  has  been  laid  by  generations  be- 
fore us.  We  have  not  simply  to  deal  with  the  present,  but 
with  a  past  weighing  upon  us  with  all  its  complications, 
stereotyped  usages  and  reigning  opinions,  on  which  we  are 
to  a  great  extent  dependent.  From  this  many  difficulties 
confront  us,  of  which  our  Western  brethren  have  no  concep- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  certain  principles  and  views  obtain 
in  the  West,  from  which  the  Eastern  brethren  differ,  the  latter 
being  much  more  strict  on  the  same  points. 

"  It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  there  is  a  difference 
between  fundamental  principles  and  questions  of  a  disciplinary 
character.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  very  best  intentions 
and  a  kindly  disposition  reign  on  all  sides,  together  with  a 
manly  candor  and  straightforwardness  without  which  every- 
thing else  would  only  be  a  lie.  May  we  then  not  indulge  in 
the  hope  that  a  blessed  work  will  be  accomplished?  There 
will  be  no  lack  of  difficulties.  There  must  be  struggles  every- 
where in  this  world.  But  this  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
progress  and  final  success  of  the  good  cause." 

In  spite  of  these  hopeful  and  sympathetic  utterances  we  do 
not  find  Dr.  Mann  prominently  connected  with  the  practical 
work  of  the  General  Council  in  subsequent  years.  Though  he 
was  almost  regularly  elected  a  delegate  he  very  rarely  attended 
the  conventions.  If  we  mistake  not,  he  was  present  only  in 
Philadelphia  1877  and  1885,  and  in  Minneapolis  1888.  At  the 
first  Philadelphia  Convention  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
warm   discussion  on   pulpit  and   altar   fellowship  and   on   the 


46 

test  question  of  the  appeal  from  the  New  York  Ministerium, 

he  voted  with  the  strictly  confessional  party.  Soon  after  the 
adjournment  of  that  meeting,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Schaff,  he  ex- 
pressed himself  very  freely  on  the  difficulties,  which  he  had 
in  his  own  mind  on  those  exciting  questions  which  agitated 
the  church.  Perhaps  we  get  here,  at  least  a  partial  insight, 
into  those  feelings  and  convictions  which  kept  him  from  tak- 
ing a  more  prominent  part  in  the  work,  and  the  conflict  of 
the  General  Council  in  those  days. 

"  Nothing  but  conflicts,"  he  says,  "  between  feelings  and 
theological  reasoning  !  Being  rooted  and  grown  on  the  sym- 
bols of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Lutheran  Church  cannot  do 
justice  to  the  pressure  of  the  nineteenth.  Torn  away  from 
those  ancient,  manly  and  solemn  testimonies,  she  is  a  histori- 
cal lie,  and  the  contemptible  shuttlecock  of  the  fluctuating 
opinions  of  the  day.  There  is  no  real  satisfaction  in  either 
direction.  And  yet,  in  truth,  there  is  no  time  less  fitted  to 
formulate  symbols  than  ours.  I  do  not  feel  comfortable  in 
this  whole  affair.  Without  adopting  the  folly  that  there  is 
no  gospel  and  no  salvation  outside  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
I  am  yet  opposed  to  unionistic  tendencies,  knowing,  that 
in  Germany  too,  the  union  is  no  match  for  the  spirit  of  the 
times.  It  is  hard  to  think  of  a  more  miserable  chaos.  Where- 
over  serious  conscientious  scruples  rule  over  the  soul  in 
matters  of  religion,  there  we  find  an  antipathy  against  all  sorts 
of  Unionism.  And  yet,  how  desirable  that  all  Christians 
should  at  this  time  be  united  against  the  ruling  power  of  in- 
fidelity!  But  for  the  present  no  one  will  be  able  to  help  us 
out  of  the  conflict  and  confusion  of  our  times." 

And  in  a  letter,  written  about  ten  years  later,  he  says  :  "  I 
cannot  be  a  Lutheran  and  a  Zwinglian  or  a  Calvinist  at  the 
same  time.  Being  the  one,  I  am,  as  a  matter  of  course  against 
the  other.  Wherever  principles  are  at  stake  I  shall  declare 
my  position  accordingly,  and  consider  Church-unionism  a 
monstrosity"  (Unding).  To  many  people  certain  dogmatical 
questions  may  seem  to  be  of  secondary,  and  church  union  of 
primary  importance.     But  I  have  never  yet  found  that  those 


47 

who  declare  certain  dogmas  to  be  secondary  were  willing  to 
adopt  the  opposite  views  for  the  sake  of  church  union.  There 
it  becomes  manifest  that  even  in  '  secondary  matters  '  they 
will  hold  on  to  their  opinion. 

"  How  far  it  may  be  proper  for  me,  being  conscious  of 
having  many  and  important  points  in  common  with  men  of 
another  faith,  to  express  this  recognition  in  churchly  official 
acts, — on  this  question,  I  confess,  I  am  not  perfectly  clear, 
and  novvhere  have  I  found  a  clear  and  satisfactory  answer  to 
it.  To  attempt  to  settle  it  simply  by  a  certain  feeling  of  good 
will  and  kindness  is  extremely  questionable." 

In  treating  of  Dr.  Mann's  relation  to  the  General  Council, 
we  cannot  pass  by  his  attitude  towards  the  liturgical  and 
hymnological  activity  of  that  body,  as  represented  in  the 
"  Kirchenbuch,"  with  its  Order  of  Service  and  its  collection 
of  psalms  and  hymns.  The  Reading  Convention  (Dec.  12-14, 
1866),  which  determined  on  the  organization  of  the  General 
Council,  lost  no  time  in  appointing  English  and  German 
Hymn-book  Committees,  in  which  all  the  District  Synods 
were  to  be  represented.  For  the  English  part  of  the  church 
the  principal  part  of  the  work  had  been  accomplished  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod,  whose  committee  prepared  the  Church 
Book,  which  the  General  Council  adopted  as  its  own.  But 
in  the  German  portion  of  the  church  nothing  had  thus  far 
been  done  towards  securing  one  book  fitted  for  such  a  gene- 
ral body  on  a  strictly  Lutheran  basis.  The  Reading  Conven- 
tion resolved,  "  that  a  Committee  of  one  from  each  Synod 
here  represented  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  German  Hymn- 
book,  having  reference  to  the  work  already  done  by  the  Wis- 
consin and  Ohio  Synods,  and  report  their  labors  at  the  next 
meeting  of  this  body."  The  Pennsylvania  representative  on 
this  committee  was  the  late  Rev.  A.  T.  Geissenhainer. 

Dr.  Mann,  who  was  in  a  position  to  know  what  measures 
were  likely  to  be  taken  by  the  Reading  Convention,  consid- 
ered this  movement  premature,  and  was  greatly  concerned 
that  there  might  be  a  clashing  of  interests  between  the  Penn- 
sylvania Synod's  German  Hymn-book  and  one  possibly  to  be 


48 

issued  by  the  general  body.  On  December  1st,  1S66,  there 
appeared  in  the  Lutherische  TLeitschrift  an  article  under  the 
heading  :  "  Gesangbuchs-Verbesserung.  Neues  Gesangbuch," 
which  fully  represents  his  views  on  the  subject  at  that  time. 
"The  Hymn-book  Question,  it  is  said,  seems  at  the  present 
time  to  be  a  prominent  topic  of  discussion  in  several  Synods 
of  our  church.  The  joint  Synod  of  Ohio  has  been  at  work 
for  some  time  with  the  edition  of  a  new  hymn-book,  and  pos- 
sibly has  finished  it  by  this  time.  The  Synod  of  Wisconsin 
has  undertaken  a  revision  of  the  Pennsylvania  hymn-book  by 
striking  out  a  number  of  hymns  and  substituting  better  ones. 
Thus  there  is  a  fine  prospect  of  our  having  three  hymn-books, 
besides  those  of  Missouri,  Buffalo,  Radde,  Gettysburg,  etc.  . . . 

"  Now  I  love  to  see  unity  and  uniformity  in  our  church 
books  which  are  to  be  used  in  the  public  service, — one  good 
Liturgy  and  one  good  hymn-book  in  all  and  for  all  the 
churches  of  our  Lutheran  Zion.  Would  it  not  be  better  if 
these  Synods  would  yet  wait  a  little  while  until  the  new  gen- 
eral body  is  organized,  and  then  in  the  fear  of  God  take  up 
this  work  in  common  with  all  the  Synods  of  sound  faith,  and 
thus  prepare  a  substantial,  truly  Lutheran  hymn-book,  which 
would  become  the  common  treasure  of  all  the  Lutheran  con- 
gregations of  this  country?  Even  if  some  years  should  pass 
by,  it  would  be  no  disadvantage;  the  work  of  those  brethren 
also  would  not  be  lost ;  it  would  find  grateful  recognition  ; 
and  until  that  time  we  could  manage  to  get  along  with  what 
we  have. 

"  I  willingly  admit  that  the  old  Pennsylvania  hymn-book  is 
capable  of  improvement.  Though  it  has  become  dear  to 
me  through  a  use  of  many  years,  I  am  not  blind  to  its  de- 
fects. I  miss  many  a  jewel,  and  I  know  a  number  of  hymns 
which  might  be  supplanted  by  better  ones.  But  even  such  a 
revision  would  probably  fail  to  give  general  satisfaction.  Nor 
must  it  be  forgotten  that  any  alteration  of  the  old  hymn- 
book  would,  for  the  present,  meet  with  legal  opposition 
such  as  would  be  most  unpleasant  for  those  who  would  under- 
take it. 


49 

"  The  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  knows  by  experience  the  diffi- 
culties connected  with  the  introduction  of  a  new  hymn-book. 
She  knows  how  many  congregations  have  become  attached 
to  the  present  book,  and  could  not  therefore  think  lightly  of 
a  revision  or  the  introduction  of  a  new  hymn-book.  And  yet 
I  believe  that,  with  a  view  to  the  future  and  to  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  at  large,  she  would  not  refuse  her  cooperation, 
with  the  prospect  of  attaining  something  more  perfect." 

At  the  first  convention  of  the  General  Council  in  Fort 
Wayne,  Dr.  Mann  was  substituted  for  Rev.  A.  T.  Geissenhai- 
ner  on  the  German  Hymn-Book  Committee ;  and  as  the 
chairman  of  this  committee  he  laid  before  the  General  Coun- 
cil a  set  of  rules  which  were  to  guide  the  committee  in  the 
preparation  of  the  new  book.  The  report  closed  with  the 
recommendation  "  that  the  liturgical  service  in  the  German 
Hymn-book  be  made  to  conform  to  that  of  the  English 
Church-book."  With  these  instructions,  unanimously  adopted, 
the  work  of  the  German  Kirchenbuch  was  fairly  mapped  out. 
But  here  also  was  the  end  of  Dr.  Mann's  connection  with  that 
work.  Yea,  for  reasons  indicated  in  the  above-quoted  article, 
the  connection  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  pro- 
posed Church  Book  was  to  end  then  and  there,  the  delega- 
tion of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  on  motion,  being  "  excused 
from  appointing  a  representative  upon  the  German  Hymn- 
book  Committee."  But  at  the  fourth  convention  in  Lancaster, 
Ohio  (1870),  a  new  committee  was  appointed  with  two  mem- 
bers of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  whose  number  was  gradually 
increased  as  the  work  went  on.  Thus  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod  had  her  share  also  in  the  work  of  the  German  Church 
Book,  as  she  had  the  exclusive  honor  of  the  preparation  of 
the  English  book.  When  the  Church-book  appeared,  Dr. 
Mann  made  no  effort  to  introduce  it  in  his  congregation.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  Ministerium  in  Pottstown,  1881,  being 
President  of  Synod,  he  led  the  opposition  against  it,  which 
demanded  the  continuation  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  Hymn- 
book. 

Is  it  true  that  Dr.  Mann  was  on  principle  opposed  to  litur- 


50 

gies  as  such  and  to  the  whole  liturgical  development  in  the 
General  Council?  To  say  this  would  be  doing  him  great 
injustice.  There  are  few,  if  any,  pastors  in  the  whole  Penn- 
sylvania Synod  who  have  so  strongly  and  eloquently  pleaded 
for  liturgical  services  as  Dr.  Mann  has  done  with  his  ready 
pen.  Read  his  articles  in  the  Kirchenfreund  (1853,  pp.  321  ff, 
and  441  ff.)  on  the  question:  "  Liturgy  or  Extempore  Prayer 
in  Public  Service?"  "  No  doubt,"  he  says,  "  our  services  are 
lacking  in  one  great  and  sacred  thing, — the  true  spirit  of 
worship  before  the  Lord  God.  They  contain  much  more  of 
man's  service  than  of  God's.  It  is  man  who  makes  a  display 
of  his  talents,  his  smartness,  his  learning,  and  of  whom,  as 
their  preacher,  the  members  of  the  congregation  are  proud, 
instead  of  Christ  being  great  before  us,  and  the  congregation 
bowing  down  to  the  dust  before  Him.  The  spirit  of  adora- 
tion, and  consequently  the  spirit  of  true  service  itself,  has 
greatly  deteriorated  among  us  through  the  extravagant  pre- 
dominance of  the  pulpit.  And  the  prayers,  as  extempore 
prayers,  are  mostly  nothing  but  a  tiresome  concatenation  of 
stereotyped  phrases  and  common-places.  In  the  Liturgy  the 
congregation  meets  something  different  from  the  individuality 
of  the  minister.  Over  against  this  subjectivism  the  common 
faith  and  adoration  of  the  church  as  a  communion  finds  there 
its  proper  expression.  The  organic  participation  of  the  con- 
gregation in  the  service,  which  is  demanded  by  the  truly 
reformatory  principle  of  the  spiritual  priesthood  of  believers, 
is  lacking  without  a  good  liturgy.  Those  who  would  like  to 
see  the  church  quickened  with  a  new  religious  life,  manifest- 
ing itself  vigorously  also  in  acts  of  confession,  do  not  know 
what  they  are  doing  if  they  fail  to  recognize  the  participation 
of  the  congregation  in  the  service  as  a  principal  means  for 
the  improvement  of  a  living  piety,  and  refuse  to  advance  it  by 
all  means." — The  slow  dragging  music  in  which  almost  uni- 
versally the  chorals  are  sung,  is  forcibly  contrasted  with  the 
fresh,  vigorous  and  lively  rhythm  of  the  Reformation  time. 
"The  composers  of  the  sixteenth  century  would  hardly  recog- 
nize their  own  tunes  in  our  singing! — The  men  of  the  Refor- 


51 

mation  cannot  be  sufficiently  praised  for  their  sober  treatment 
of  the  liturgical  question.  Luther  particularly  arranged  his 
new  order  of  service  on  the  most  conservative  principles. 
He  only  meant  to  cleanse  the  Roman  Catholic  liturgy  from 
anti-scriptural  additions;  but  his  '  Evangelical  Mass'  retained 
whatever  was  not  contrary  to  pure  doctrine.  It  would  have 
been  impossible  for  Luther  to  think  of  a  service  without  fixed 
forms  of  prayer  and  confession,  as  the  right  and  orderly  thing 
in  the  Christian  Church."  Speaking  of  the  early  Lutheran 
Church  of  our  fathers  in  America,  Dr.  Mann  points  to  the 
fact  that  her  original  liturgical  character  was  in  the  beginning 
clearly  recognized  in  this  country.  "We  know  well  enough," 
say  the  concluding  paragraphs  of  those  articles,  "  that  the 
true  participation  of  the  congregations  cannot  be  reached 
simply  by  synodical  resolutions  and  liturgies  prepared  for 
introduction.  The  congregations  themselves  must  feel  the 
want,  on  their  part,  to  praise  God  with  one  heart  and  one 
mouth.  Only  then  will  we  obtain  something  better  than  a 
purely  mechanical,  outward,  and  therefore  dead  performance. 
But  the  ministers  of  the  Word  have  to  do  their  duty  to  gain 
for  themselves  a  clearer  insight  into  the  true  nature  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  in  order  to  be  able  to  spread  this  understanding 
also  among  their  congregations." 

Five  years  afterward,  in  an  article  on  "  The  German  Re- 
formed Church  and  the  Liturgical  Question  "  {Kirchenfreund, 
1858,  pp.  9-15),  he  treats  the  same  subject  in  a  still  more 
direct  and  practical  manner,  recommending  most  warmly  the 
newly  published  liturgy  of  the  Reformed  Church.  "  The  lan- 
guage," he  says,  "  is  the  old  biblical  and  churchly  language  in 
its  sublime  simplicity,  plain  and  unadorned  compared  to 
modern  poetical  stiltedness,  and  yet  most  edifying.  Some 
will  say,  time  will  prove  whether  the  book  is  good  or  not.. 
But  whoever  thinks  this  way  confounds  two  things,  viz.,  '  good 
in  itself  and  '  suited  to  the  taste  of  the  time.'  The  Reformed 
Church  may  find  it  impossible  to  carry  through  the  idea  of 
this  book  within  the  next  ten  or  twenty  years  in  the  life  of  her 
congregations,  and  to  make  it  familiar  in  her  homes  and.  her 
4 


52 

services  so  that  it  becomes  a  real  growth  like  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  Such  things  are 
very  hard  to  introduce  where  people  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  them  from  childhood.  But  to  say  that  for  this  reason  the 
book  is  not  good  in  itself,  would  be  paramount  to  accepting 
the  taste  of  the  times  as  judge  over  churchly  principles,  which 
can  never  be  decided  by  a  merely  popular  taste,  dependent 
upon  habit.  Or  should  the  work  of  the  Church  ignore  correct 
principles  in  order  to  accommodate  itself  to  prevailing  opinions, 
deeply  rooted  prejudices  and  pure  habit?  More  and  more 
people  begin  to  understand  that  our  Protestant  form  of  service 
as  it  is  commonly  found,  consists  chiefly  in  listening  to  the 
singing  of  a  choir,  to  a  rather  stereotyped  prayer  (though  it 
claims  to  be  extempore)  and  a  somewhat  lengthy  sermon. 
The  congregation,  which  certainly  ought  to  take  the  principal 
part  in  a  congregational  service,  has  least  to  do  in  it.  There 
is  no  inward  desire  for  a  common,  cheerful  manifestation  of 
our  religious  life  in  confession,  song  and  prayer.  We  have  no 
hope  of  ever  seeing  a  change  in  this  respect.  But  it  is  most 
appropriate  that  over  against  this  lamentable  reality  the  picture 
of  a  better  church  service  be  presented.  You  may  say  that 
this  is  not  the  time  to  make  and  introduce  liturgies.  And  yet 
our  very  time  needs  to  be  reminded  of  what  a  true  congrega- 
tional service  ought  to  be.  The  difficulties  which  are,  at 
present,  in  the  way  of  the  introduction  of  a  correct  liturgical 
service  were  well  known  to  the  Synod  and  to  the  committee. 
But  this  could  not  move  the  committee  to  present  something 
contrary  to  correct  churchly  principles.  It  cannot  be  expected 
that  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  Church  should  simply  accom- 
modate itself  to  a  general  defect.  It  has  the  duty,  not  to  sanc- 
tion but  to  correct,  as  far  as  possible,  such  defects.  And  cer- 
tainly the  thing  is  well  deserving  of  a  trial,  if  perhaps  a  fresh 
and  more  living  participation  of  the  congregation  in  the  ser- 
vice might  thereby  be  effected."  It  needs  no  commentary  to 
show  how  well  every  one  of  these  words  is  fitted  to  the  work 
of  the  General  Council's  Committee,  the  Church  Book,  which 
appeared  about  twenty  years  later. 


53 

Wherever  an  opportunity  was  afforded  to  Dr.  Mann  to 
hear  a  fair  presentation  of  the  treasures  of  our  old  churchly 
songs,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  give  full  and  enthusiastic  expres- 
sion to  his  delight.  That  beautiful  choral  service  in  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Communion,  during  the  General  Council's  session 
in  1885,  fairly  overwhelmed  him  and  he  pronounced  it  in  his 
motion  on  the  next  day  "  a  choral  service  no  less  full  of  in- 
struction and  encouragement  than  of  sacred  emotion  and  holy 
pleasure  ;  "  there  "  we  realized  the  beauty  of  ancient  and  espe- 
cially Lutheran  Church  music,  and  acknowledge  it  as  a  con- 
vincing proof  that  in  this  direction  also  the  Lutheran  Church 
needs  not  to  go  out  of  the  galaxy  of  her  ancient  talent  granted 
her,  and  the  musical  treasures  entrusted  to  her,  for  the  edifica- 
tion of  her  congregations  and  families."  How  often  during 
the  last  years  of  his  life,  especially  on  festival  days,  after 
attending  the  full  liturgical  service  of  our  Church  did  we  hear 
the  testimony  from  his  lips  :  "  What  a  solemn  and  edifying 
service  this  was  !  "  and  his  last  communion  on  earth  he  enjoyed 
on  Easter  morning  with  the  full  service  of  the  German  Church 
Book  in  St.  Johannis. 

We  close  these  testimonies  of  our  sainted  brother  on  the 
Church  Book  question,  with  a  quotation  from  his  biography  of 
Muhlenberg.  Speaking  of  the  hymnological  work  of  the 
patriarch,  and  particularly  of  the  hymn-book  of  1786,  his 
biographer  says  :  "  Muhlenberg  was  too  conservative  a  Church- 
man to  deprive  Lutherans  of  hymns  to  which  tradition  and 
habit  had  attached  them,  and  which  strenuously  echoed  the 
Lutheran  faith.  In  this  respect  this  hymn-book,  the  largest 
part  of  which  Muhlenberg  compiled,  and  which  was  published 
by  Synod  in  1786,  is  much  superior  to  the  one  edited  under 
Synodical  authority  in  1849,  but  does  not  attain  to  the  merits 
of  the  Kirchenbuch  edited  by  the  General  Council  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  and  representing  the  highest 
standard  of  liturgical  and  hymnological  theory:"    (P.  500.) 

But  with  all  this  recognition  of  the  correct  principles  repre- 
sented in  the  liturgical  and  hymnological  work  of  the  General 
Council,  with  all  his  pronounced  churchly  conservatism  and 


54 

his  fine  aesthetic  taste,  there  were  other  and  weighty  points 
which  made  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  Dr.  Mann  to  be 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  Kirchenbuch  and  to  take  an  active 
part  in  its  introduction.  The  "  pressure  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury," which  made  him  frequently  so  uncomfortable  with 
regard  to  the  confessional  question,  was  felt  by  him  even  more 
directly  in  the  practical  sphere  of  the  service  in  God's  house.  He 
was  too  modern  a  man  in  the  whole  cast  of  his  mind,  too  much 
given  to  reflection,  to  believe  in  a  simple,  natural  and  naive 
enjoyment  of  those  ancient  forms  of  service  of  the  sixteenth 
century  and  of  pre-Reformation  times.  Besides  he  had  his 
full  share  of  that  peculiar  Suabian  individualism,  which  enter- 
tains an  almost  invincible  repugnance  to  anything  like  fixed, 
stereotyped  forms  of  however  ancient  authority.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania hymn-book  of  1849,  which  was  modelled  after  the 
Wiirttemberg  hymn-book  of  1842,  (that  halfway  compromise 
between  pure  churchly  principles  and  modern  likes  and  dis- 
likes), had  taken  possession  of  his  heart,  even  when  he  was 
still  in  the  Reformed  Church.  And  now,  when  the  Church 
Book  appeared,  Dr.  Mann  was  nearing  the  sixties,  and  accord- 
ing to  human  expectations  he  had  only  a  few  years  of  active 
ministerial  work  before  him.  The  Church  Book  was  a  radical 
departure  from  the  hymn-book  of  1849,  which  had  been  chiefly 
the  work  of  his  predecessor  and  colleague  in  Zion's  Church, 
the  revered  and  beloved  Dr.  C.  R.  Demme.  Considering  all 
these  points,  we  can  understand  that  Dr.  Mann  shrunk  from 
the  difficult  and  delicate  task  of  bringing  the  old  congregation 
from  the  hymn-book  of  1849  over  to  the  Kirchenbuch  of  1877. 

X.    IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

The  establishment  of  the  Theological  Seminary  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  by  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  was  an 
important  feature  in  that  movement  towards  a  full,  unreservedly 
Lutheran  position,  which  culminated  in  the  organization  of  the 
General  Council.  The  Seminary  was  founded  for  a  double 
object:  first  to  secure  a  full  theological  course  in  both  lan- 
guages for  all  who  should  need  it ;  and  secondly  to  maintain 


55 

a  doctrinal  standard  in  full  conformity  with  the  confession  of 
the  Church.  Dr.  Mann  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  original 
three  full  professors  of  the  institution.  He  was  the  German 
Professor  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth 
being  the  English  Professor,  and  Dr.  C.  F.  Schaefer  the  German- 
English. 

From  the  beginning  he  was  delighted  with  his  call  to  this 
new  field  of  labor,  for  which  he  was  so  eminently  fitted  by  his 
brilliant  gifts  and  rich  experience  as  a  teacher.  He  was  will- 
ing at  once  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  new  work,  and 
immediately  after  his  election  as  professor  he  handed  in  his 
resignation  as  pastor  of  Zion's  congregation.  But  the  congre- 
gation would  not  let  him  go,  and  for  twenty  years  he  had  to 
carry  the  double  burden  as  pastor  of  the  large  mother  congre- 
gation and  as  professor  and  housefather  of  the  Seminary.  For 
a  number  of  years  his  services  to  the  Seminary  were  entirely 
gratuitous,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  never  drew  his  full 
salary  as  a  professor.  His  preparations  for  his  lectures  were 
most  exact  and  conscientious.  The  branches  which  he  taught 
were  Hebrew,  Ethics,  Symbolics,  Homiletics  and  New  Testa- 
ment Exegesis.  He  had  much  to  give  to  his  students,  but 
he  also  demanded  much  of  them.  As  soon  as  he  had  received 
his  appointment  as  professor,  he  formed  a  sort  of  Hebrew 
Club  with  his  newly  arrived  colleague  in  the  pastorate,  and  in 
those  short  weeks  preceding  the  opening  of  the  Seminary,  a 
good  deal  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  was  read  by  the  two  friends. 
Though  the  drudgery  of  teaching  Hebrew  grammar  gradually 
became  very  distasteful,  still  nothing  could  give  him  greater 
satisfaction  than  the  recognition  of  some  of  the  Hebrew  stu- 
dents of  his  training  by  such  scholars  as  Dr.  Harper  and  Dr. 
Hilprecht.  In  his  presentation  of  Symbolics  he  was  particu- 
larly happy  in  giving  clear  historical  outlines  of  the  different 
ecclesiastical  groups,  and  following  the  various  doctrinal  sys- 
tems up  to  the  very  roots  and  principles  from  which  they 
sprang.  While  from  his  own  individuality  he  would  probably 
never  have  made  a  satisfactory  professor  of  dogmatics  in  the 
full  panoply  of  our  old  Lutheran  scholasticism,  no  one  ever 


56 

complained  that  his  Symbolics  did  not  give  a  perfectly  true 
and  accurate  statement  of  all  that  is  distinctive  and  character- 
istic in  the  Lutheran  Confession.  The  important  and  difficult 
branch  of  Ethics  found  in  him  a  most  excellent  teacher.  His 
thorough  philosophical  training,  his  own  moral  strictness  and 
conscientiousness,  his  deep  insight  into  the  practical  life  of  the 
Christian,  his  comprehensive  knowledge  of  all  the  social  relations 
and  problems  of  our  present  time  fitted  him  admirably  for  this 
particular  subject.  In  the  homiletical  exercises,  which  he  super- 
intended, he  was  an  unsparing  critic  of  the  first  crude  efforts 
of  his  students,  but  at  the  same  time  full  of  suggestions  and 
practical  hints  from  the  rich  storehouse  of  his  own  experience 
as  an  eloquent  and  popular  preacher.  The  form  was  alto- 
gether of  secondary  interest  to  him,  while  he  insisted  that  the 
riches  and  the  fullness  of  the  divine  word  in  the  text  should  be 
thoroughly  studied,  sincerely  felt  and  carefully  expounded  by 
the  witness  of  God's  truth  in  the  pulpit. 

In  his  position  as  housefather  he  insisted  on  good  order  and 
discipline  in  the  Seminary.  It  was  not  too  much  for  him  to 
appear  at  the  bedside  of  a  lazy  sleeper  who  had  accustomed 
himself  never  to  hear  the  bell  for  rising  and  chapel  service. 
But  at  the  same  time  he  was  the  kindest  and  most  sympathiz- 
ing friend  of  his  students,  always  ready  to  do  what  he  could 
for  those  who  stood  in  need  of  sound  advice  and  active  assist- 
ance. In  December,  1875,  when  the  smallpox  broke  out  in 
the  Seminary,  and  two  students  succumbed  to  the  pestilence, 
he  was  untiring  in  his  heroic  and  self-sacrificing  devotion  to 
the  poor  sufferers  and  to  the  institution  itself.  He  had  the 
care  of  the  sick,  whom  he  visited  every  day  and  frequently 
more  than  once  a  day.  And  the  whole  management  of  the 
house  with  all  the  necessary  measures  for  ventilation  and  disin- 
fection, etc.,  was  in  his  charge.  He  says  of  his  experience  in 
those  days :  "  I  went  through  an  amount  of  trouble  which  I 
hardly  ever  expected  to  have." 

We  npy  conclude  this  short  reference  to  his  Seminary  work 
with  a  few  passages  from  his  "  Recollections  of  an  old  Pro- 
fessor," which  he  wrote  in  Munich,  July,  1889,  for  the  memo- 
rial number  of  the  Indicator : 


57 

"It  was  on  a  morning  in  October  in  the  year  1864,  that  I  marched 
from  my  house,  at  that  time  on  Fifth  street,  near  Fairmount  Avenue 
(then  Coates  street)  to  the  Book  store  on  Ninth  street,  south  of  Arch 
street,  Philadelphia.  Synod  had  ordered  the  establishment  and  open- 
ing of  the  Theological  Seminary ;  the  Professors  were  elected  and  in- 
stalled, the  students  were  expected;  the  work  had  to  begin.  I  think, 
eleven  young  brethren  had  presented  themselves  before  the  faculty  for 
admission.  The  number,  though  small,  was  not  discouraging,  for  they 
were  large-hearted  men.  When  I  reached  the  book-store  that  day.  I 
was  conducted  to  the  rear  building  of  the  house  and  there,  in  a  small 
room  on  the  second  floor,  I  found  those  students  seated  around  an  oval 
table  and  began  my  lecture.  I  recollect  that  it  was  the  first  lecture 
given  in  the  Seminary.  Among  other  subjects,  my  task  during  the  year 
was  to  expound  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  in  that  lecture  I  nar- 
rated to  the  class  the  life  of  Paul,  the  Apostle,  and  tried  to  depict  to 
them  the  character  of  the  man  who  did  more  than  any  other  by  his 
apostolic  dignity,  missionary  spirit  and  energetic  devotion,  to  open  the 
way  for  the  gospel  of  Christ,  in  its  tour  around  the  world.  I  can  never 
forget  the  close  attention  with  which  that  class  of  students  listened  to 
my  words  and  thereby  greatly  encouraged  me. 

"As  a  professor  who  was  placed  in  his  position  by  the  kind  confidence  of 
Synod  and  who  has  been  in  active  service  from  the  beginning  of  the  work 
of  the  Seminary  up  to  the  present  time,  I  recollect  that  I  used  the  German 
language  for  years,  which  resulted  in  the  fact  that  our  English  students 
derived  no  benefit  whatever  from  me,  excepting  that  they  learned  a 
little  Hebrew,  which  I  had  to  teach  in  English  or  not  teach  at  all  (and 
that  little  in  most  cases  did  not  remain  with  them  long) ;  whilst  other 
important  branches,  like  Ethics  and  Symbolics,  which  also  should  have 
been  taught  in  English,  were  by  those  students  missed  entirely  during 
the  whole  Seminary  course.  This  deficiency  in  their  training  was  not  a 
matter  of  choice,  but  was  one  of  those  strange  necessities  belonging  to 
the  transition  period  in  the  linguistic  difficulties  of  our  Lutheran  Church. 
I  also  recollect  the  time,  when  these  students,  knowing  their  own  in- 
terest, came  and  begged  me  to  use  the  English  language  along  with 
the  German,  so  that  they  also  might  be  benefited  by  my  instruction.  I 
felt  that  I  could  grant  this  petition  with  a  good  conscience,  and  I  am 
also  thoroughly  convinced  that  no  German  student  could  honestly  say, 
that  he  suffered  from  this  cause  in  his  training  in  the  German  language.'' 

It  was  natural  for  him  with  his  constitutional  timidity  and 
caution,  not  to  be  over-sanguine  concerning  the  possibilities 
and  prospects  of  such  a  vast  undertaking  as  this  Seminary- 
was  for  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania.     "  I  remember  the  time 


58 

very  well,"  he  says,  "  when  I  would  have  looked  with  incred- 
ulous eyes  upon  any  one  who  might  have  told  me  that  the 
old  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  could  undertake  the  establishment 
of  a  Seminary  of  her  own.  I  recollect  the  time  when  I  con- 
sidered our  dear  brother  S.  K.  Brobst,  of  Allentown, — a  man 
of  blessed  memory — as  a  very  amiable  enthusiast,  when  he 
spoke  to  me  privately  from  time  to  time  about  the  necessity 
of  a  Seminary  of  a  truly  Lutheran  character  in  the  midst  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Synod."  So,  when  the  removal  of  the  in- 
stitution to  Mount  Airy  became  a  necessity,  he  would  some- 
times say,  with  a  sort  of  desperate  resignation :  "  I  shall 
never  live  to  see  it."  But  when  the  day  came  for  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  on  the  beautiful  spot,  where  our  Seminary 
now  stands,  what  a  joyous,  hopeful  and  happy  spirit  of  spring- 
time breathed  through  his  stirring  and  beautiful  address  on 
that  occasion  !  He  lived  to  see  it  and  to  work  in  it  and  to 
Sfive  the  best  strength  and  time  of  the  eve  of  his  life  to  his 
work  in  Mount  Airy.  It  would  indeed  be  hard  to  tell  which 
he  loved  best,  the  congregation  whose  pastor  he  had  been 
for  thirty-four  years,  or  the  Seminary  to  which  the  twenty- 
seven  ripest  years  of  his  life  were  given.  On  his  death-bed 
in  the  few  moments  when  his  mind  was  wandering,  he  was  in 
the  class-room,  with  his  beloved  students. 

XI.  ADDITIONAL  LITERARY  AND  PHILANTHROPIC  WORK. 

When  Dr.  Mann's  connection  with  the  "  Kirchenfreund" 
ceased  in  1859,  that  paper  was  continued  by  the  publishers, 
Messrs.  Schaefer  &  Koradi  for  a  number  of  years,  simply  as  a 
collection  of  interesting  articles  selected  from  German  theo- 
logical journals.  But  Rev.  S.  K.  Brobst,  the  enthusiastic 
and  persevering  pioneer  of  Lutheran  German  journalism  in 
the  East,  and  a  life-long  devoted  friend  of  Dr.  Minn,  at  once 
secured  his  co-operation  for  his  "  Zcitsc hrift"  and  '*Jugend- 
freund!'  His  leading  articles  in  the  former  paper  cover  al- 
most as  wide  a  range  of  subjects,  as  his  former  contributions 
to  the  Kirchenfreund,  but  as  a  matter  of  course  they  had  to  be 
of  a  more  popular  character.     They  were  particularly  strong 


59 

and  able  in  the  line  of  apologetics,  defending  the  old  Chris- 
tian faith  against  modern  infidelity,  especially  in  its  German 
development.  See  his  Letters  on  ''  Believers  and  Unbe- 
lievers"  (Glauben  and  Unglauben  1863).  "Why  should  we 
have  a  Sunday?  "  (i860).  "  Hints  for  those  who  are  charged 
with  the  training  of  the  young"  (1861).  Also  his  Synodical 
sermon  of  1861,  published  in  the  Zeitschnft,  is  chiefly  of  this 
character.  His  views  on  the  progress  of  God's  Kingdom  in 
modern  history  were  set  forth  in  those  comprehensive  and  in- 
structive sketches,  called  "  Rundschau,"  with  which  the  new 
year  generally  opened.  The  rest  of  his  contributions  were 
mostly  devoted  to  practical  questions  for  congregations,  pas- 
tors and  Christians.  They  were  full  of  pastoral  wisdom  and 
true  spiritual  unction.  A  living  Christianity  pulsates  in  them 
and  everywhere  do  they  insist  on  the  manifestation  of  a  pure 
faith  in  an  honest,  upright  Christian  life.  His  contributions 
to  Mr.  Brobst's  Jugendfreund,  over  the  signature  "  M.  S.  N.," 
were  continued  for  many  years  and  were  a  source  of  great 
pleasure  to  him.  It  is  impossible  to  read  them  without  the 
impression,  that  those  little  sketches  were  a  labor  of  love  on 
the  part  of  the  writer.  The  deep  theologian  and  philosopher 
did  not  think  it  beneath  his  dignity  to  sit  with  the  little  ones 
in  the  nursery,  going  with  them  over  their  picture-books  and 
pointing  out  all  their  beauties  and  funny  things.  Here  his 
powers  of  imagination  and  humor  have  full  sway.  But  with 
all  his  playfulness  and  merriment  he  always  returned  to  the 
one  thing  needful. 

In  1863  his  friend  Dr.  Ph.  Schaff  had  founded  another  Ger- 
man monthly  called  Evangclisclie  Zcugnisse,  and  published  by 
Ig.  Kohler,  Philadelphia.  A  considerable  part  of  the  editorial 
burden  of  this  homiletical  journal  rested  on  Dr.  Mann's  shoul- 
ders, as  Dr.  Schaff  was  frequently  absent  in  Europe.  Dr. 
Mann  was,  however,  not  very  enthusiastic  over  it.  Though 
almost  every  number  contained  something  from  his  pen,  he 
considered  it  "  a  crime  against  good  taste  to  print  stale  ser- 
mons." To  write  sermons  was  to  him  a  horrible  penance.  He 
left  it  to  others  whom  he  found   willing  "  to  risk  their  trifling" 


60 

reputation  and  to  look  upon  the  Evangclisclic  Zeugnisse  as  a 
pulpit  of  .  larger  dimensions."  His  own  written  sermons 
appeared  to  him  "  as  mere  funeral  sermons  of  the  preached 
ones." 

For  over  three  years  (1864-1867)  he  was  at  work  on  the 
translation  of  an  English  Commentary  to  the  New  Testament 
for  the  American  Tract  Society.  At  the  very  outset  he  had 
his  doubts  and  misgivings  about  it.  He  knew  well  the  diffi- 
culty of  transforming  English,  "  such  English,  such  theologi- 
cal English  into  anything  like  good  fluent  German.  It  is  not 
the  words  and.  the  language,  but  it  is  the  whole  manner  of 
thinking,  of  looking  at  things,  where  the  difference  rests. 
For  the  Germans  something  according  to  their  own  genius 
should  be  given."  The  more  the  work  progressed  the  less 
was  he  satisfied  with  it.  His  only  recompense  was  the 
renewed  and  thorough  study  of  the  New  Testament  to  which 
it  led  him.  Apart  from  this  he  considered  it  a  labor  improbus 
and  finally  gave  it  up,  though  he  had  nearly  finished  the 
whole  work. 

He  found  more  satisfaction  in  the  editing  of  Ig.  Kohler's 
large  family  Bible,  which  appeared  in  1865,  and  with  which  he 
had  been  occupied  about  two  years  and  a  half.  He  revised  the 
parallel  passages  and  headings  of  chapters,  and  wrote  short 
introductions  to  the  different  books,  giving  some  general  hints 
and  historical  points,  to  assist  the  reader  in  the  proper  under- 
standing of  the  sacred  writings.  In  addition  to  this  he  wrote 
a  preface  (dated  Oct.  1,  1864),  one  of  the  most  forcible  apolo- 
gies of  the  Bible  to  be  found  anywhere.  Unbelievers  and 
mockers,  Christians  and  pastors  are  invited  to  this  word  of 
life  which  is  addressed  "  to  that  point  in  men  which  no  human 
word  can  properly  reach — the  conscience." 

About  this  time  (1866  and  the  following  years), he  also  fur- 
nished regular  contributions  to  the  Lutheran  and  Missionary, 
especially  on  European  affairs  and  on  German  theological  lit- 
erature (the  Church  abroad).  Later  on  he  was  an  industrious 
writer  for  the  Lutheran  Church  Rcvieiv  (from  1882  to  1891  )- 
chiefly  on   ethical,  philosophical   and   historical   topics.     The 


61 

most  extensive  and  elaborate  contribution  is  a  series  of  four 
articles  on  Albert  Ritschl  and  his  theology,  of  which  he  made 
a  special  study  during  the  last  years  of  his  life.  Owing  to 
this  author's  uncouth  and  stilted  language  he  found  this  by 
no  means  an  easy  task.  He  looked  upon  his  theology  as  a 
compromise  between  modern  philosophy  and  the  traditional 
creed  ;  an  attempt  to  present  Christian  teaching  in  a  form  which 
accommodates  itself  to  the  ways  of  modern  thinking.  He  ad- 
mits that  Ritschl  has  emphasized  certain  sides  in  Christianity 
which,  though  not  unknown  heretofore,  have  perhaps  not  been 
fully  appreciated  in  their  importance  for  the  Christian's  life. 
He  was  willing  to  accept  as  "  the  ethical  result "  of  Ritschl's 
three  volumes  on  "Justification  and  Reconciliation  "  the  idea  : 
"  Christianity  a  task  and  an  accomplishment."  But  after  all 
he  sums  up  his  judgment  in  the  sentence  :  "  If  Paul  is  right, 
Ritschl  is  wrong." 

For  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life  his  literary  work  was 
concentrated  upon  the  early  history  of  our  Lutheran  Church 
in  America.  A  long  array  of  smaller  German  books,  histori- 
cal and  biographical,  the  goodly  English  volume  "  Life  and 
Times  of  H.  M.  Muhlenberg,"  and  the  new  edition  of  the 
Halle  Reports,  all  belong  to  this  department.  This  was  in- 
deed a  different  kind  of  work  and  writing  from  what  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  heretofore.  In  those  fresh  and  sprightly 
articles  of  his  earlier  literary  period  there  was  no  elaborate 
searching  of  documents  and  evidences.  He  carried  all  his 
references  within  himself,  in  the  well  filled  storehouse  of  his 
never  failing  memory,  and  the  thoughts  burst  forth  like  springs 
of  living  waters.  But  here  he  had  to  settle  down  to  endless 
search  after  petty  details,  to  be  hunted  up  in  dusty  folios  and 
faded  Church  records.  And  he  proved  himself  fully  equal  to 
this  toilsome  work.  In  spite  of  its  comparatively  narrow  hor- 
izon, he  found  it  most  instructive  and  stimulating.  Having 
once  bestirred  himself  to  do  this  work  to  the  best  of  his  abil- 
ity, he  soon  became  very  fond  of  it  and  found  an  enjoyment 
in  it,  which  few  people  could  fully  appreciate,  just  as  only  a 
very  few  would  be  able  to   realize  the   amount  of  work  and 


62 

patient  toil,  represented  in  one  little  number  of  those  reports. 
He  was  associated  in  this  great  work  with  Rev.  Dr.  German, 
of  Windsheim,  Germany,  and  with  our  lamented  Dr.  B.  M. 
Schmucker.  To  those  who  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  Dr. 
Mann  and  Dr.  Schmucker  and  of  recognizing  the  remarkable 
and  peculiar  talents  of  both,  it  was  a  special  gratification,  to 
see  those  two  men,  so  different  in  many  respects,  and  naturally 
often  antagonistic,  united  in  beautiful  harmony  on  the  evening 
of  their  life  in  one  common  work  for  our  beloved  Church, 
learning  to  know  and  to  value  each  other  more  and  more  as 
they  progressed  in  their  labor  of  love. 

There  is,  no  doubt,  a  providential  significance  in  this  concen- 
tration of  Dr.  Mann,  in  the  ripest  years  of  his  life,  upon  our 
patriarch  H.  M.  Muhlenberg  and  his  times.  As  stated 
above  he  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  the  controversies  and 
labors  that  engaged  the  General  Council  after  its  immediate 
organization.  There  was  much  in  those  details,  that  was 
neither  interesting  nor  attractive  to  him.  But  as  he  busied 
himself  in  his  quiet  study  and  drew  for  us  the  life-like 
picture  of  that  noble  man  of  God,  whom  all  parties  cannot 
but  revere  and  accept  as  the  best  type  of  Lutheranism  in 
America,  he  contributed  the  most  important  building  material 
for  the  future  unity  of  our  Church  in  this  country,  proving  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  a  contradiction,  that  the  position  of 
the  General  Council  is  not  only  correct  in  principle  and 
theory,  but  also  the  true  historical  one  in  the  very  beginning 
of  a  Lutheran  Church  organization  in  America. 

In  addition  to  all  these  endless  labors  as  pastor,  professor 
and  author,  Dr.  Mann  still  found  time  to  show  an  active 
interest  in  philanthropic  work  not  directly  connected  with  the 
church.  He  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  German  Society, 
a  wise  counselor  in  all  its  deliberations,  and  for  many  years 
the  chairman  of  its  Library  Committee,  serving  the  society  to 
the  best  of  his  ability  by  his  excellent  literary  taste  and  judg- 
ment and  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  standard  publi- 
cations in  German  as  well  as  in  English.  As  a  member  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Prison  Society,  he  was  a  regular  visitor  to 


63 

the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  carrying  human  sympathy  and  the 
light  of  God's  word  into  the  criminal's  cell.  In  this,  as  in  all 
his  labors,  he  was  most  punctual  and  systematic.  He  kept  a 
list  of  the  German  prisoners,  with  the  numbers  of  their  cells 
and  the  dates  of  his  visits,  which,  with  very  rare  exceptions, 
were  paid  from  week  to  week.  In  the  German  Hospital 
(since  1884)  and  in  the  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home  and  Philadel- 
phia Mother- House  of  Deaconesses  (since  1888),  he  served  as 
trustee  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  also,  for  a  number 
of  years,  vice-president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bible  Society. 

XII.  THE  END. 

Dr.  Mann  was  married  in  1849  to  Margaretta  Rommel,  the 
daughter  of  John  Rommel,  a  devout  and  intelligent  Christian, 
and  for  many  years  the  superintendent  of  St.  Paul's  Sunday- 
school.  The  widow  survives  him,  with  one  son  and  three 
daughters.  He  paid  several  visits  to  Europe, — the  first  in 
1867,  when  he  saw  his  aged  mother  for  the  last  time,  and 
afterwards  in  1875,  and  again  in  1889  and  1890;  the  last  two 
journeys  were  undertaken  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  Mrs.  Mann's 
health,  which  was  restored  by  her  visits  to  Carlsbad.  In 
1889  the  journey  was  extended  to  Italy,  and  Genoa,  Florence, 
Rome,  Naples,  the  Island  of  Capri  and  Venice  were  visited. 

During  the  forty-seven  years  of  his  American  life  Dr.  Mann 
was  repeatedly  prostrated  by  severe  attacks  of  sickness.  "  I 
cannot  boast,"  he  says,  "  of  a  superabundance  of  physical 
strength."  Besides  his  severe  illness  in  the  summer  of  1853, 
when  Rev.  Mr.  Gunther  took  his  place  in  the  congregation, 
he  suffered  most  painfully  from  neuralgia  in  the  right  ear  in 
1 86 1,  and  had  again  a  serious  attack  of  sickness  in  the  spring 
of  1865,  from  which  he  recovered  very  slowly.  In  1878  he 
was  once  more  laid  up  for  several  weeks,  and  ever  since  that 
time  his  hearing  was  somewhat  affected.  But  in  spite  of 
these  repeated  storms  which  shook  his  bodily  constitution, 
he  showed  a  wonderful  vitality,  never  sparing  himself,  work- 
ing as  few  other  men  could  have  worked,  and  exposing  him- 


64 

self  to  constant  danger  in  the  performance  of  his  ministerial 
duties.  Even  after  he  had  passed  his  seventieth  year  he 
showed  no  signs  of  failing.  "  Up  to  my  seventy-third  year," 
he  said,  "  I  have  hardly  known  what  it  is  to  grow  old."  In 
1890  he  now  and  then  complained  of  not  feeling  well,  and 
thought  "perhaps  the  evening  bells  are  tolling."  But  to  the 
wider  circle  of  his  friends  it  was  quite  unexpected  when,  on 
the  morning  of  October  28,  1891,  he  was  prostrated  by  that 
sudden  attack  of  heart  failure  which  at  once  brought  him  to 
the  very  gates  of  death.  Though  he  rallied  once  more,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that  the  days  of  his  public  life  and  work 
were  over.  He  resigned  his  professorship  in  the  Seminary, 
confining  himself,  with  all  the  strength  that  was  left  to  him, 
to  his  study  and  the  continuation  of  his  beloved  Halle  Re- 
ports. After  a  visit  to  Atlantic  City  in  the  spring  of  1892, 
his  strength  for  a  time  seemed  greatly  improved.  He  again 
attended  the  meetings  of  the  Pastoral  Association  in  Mount 
Airy,  and  made  one  of  his  most  brilliant  extempore  addresses 
in  the  May  meeting  on  the  condition  and  influence  of  the 
Jews  in  modern  history.  But  when  the  time  came  for  the 
Synodical  Convention  in  Reading,  he  did  not  feel  strong 
enough  to  attend  the  meeting,  as  he  was  very  much  pros- 
trated by  the  great  heat.  He  longed  to  get  out  of  the  city 
and  to  enjoy  the  balmy  sea-breezes  of  Pigeon  Cove,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  had  been  greatly  benefited  in  the  pre- 
ceding summer.  He  left  the  city  on  Wednesday,  June  15th, 
in  company  with  his  wife  and  two  daughters.  On  the  way 
to  Falls  River  he  was  taken  quite  sick  on  the  steamer, 
and  when  they  reached  Boston,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
stop  at  a  hotel  and  call  in  medical  assistance.  A  few  precious 
days  were  granted  to  him  in  that  quiet  retreat  with  his  be- 
loved ones.  He  hardly  tasted  the  bitterness  of  death.  Softly 
and  gently  the  Lord  carried  His  faithful  servant  home  on  the 
evening  of  June  20th.  He  had  reached  an  age  of  73  years 
and  22  days. 

On  the  following  Friday,  June  24th,  his  body  was  laid  to 
rest  in   West   Laurel    Hill   Cemetery,   Philadelphia.     At  the 


65 

house,  No,  114  North  Thirty-fourth  Street,  the  Rev.  William 
Ashmead  Schaeffer,  pastor  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  read  the 
service  for  the  burial  of  the  dead.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Schaeffer, 
the  senior  and  chairman  of  the  Theological  Faculty,  and  a 
life-long,  warm  friend  of  Dr.  Mann,  addressed  the  family  in 
words  of  tender  sympathy  and  appreciation  of  the  departed 
one.  Rev.  Hugo  Grahn,  the  oldest  of  his  German  colleagues 
in  the  city,  closed  with  a  German  prayer.  There  was  general 
regret  that  the  public  service  could  not  be  held  in  Zion's 
Church,  whose  faithful  pastor  he  had  been  for  thirty-four 
years.  But  the  work  of  repairing  and  painting  in  preparation 
for  the  celebration  of  the  150th  anniversary  of  the  congrega- 
tion had  already  been  commenced  and  the  scaffolding  erected, 
so  that  the  church  was  not  available  for  such  a  funeral  ser- 
vice. The  churches  of  St.  Johannis  (German),  St.  John's 
(English),  and  of  the  Holy  Communion  were  offered  for  the 
funeral  service,  and  on  account  of  its  central  location,  the 
family  decided  in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  large  edifice  was 
crowded  with  members  of  all  our  Lutheran  Churches  in 
Philadelphia  and  from  the  whole  territory  of  our  Synod. 

As  the  body  was  carried  into  the  church  by  pastors  who 
had  all  been  pupils  of  Dr.  Mann,  it  was  followed  by  the  vestry 
of  Zion's  Church,  the  directors  of  the  Seminary,  a  delegation 
from  the  New  York  Ministerium,  which  was  at  that  time  in 
session  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  about  200  clerical  breth- 
ren. After  an  organ-prelude  Rev.  F.  Wischan  announced  the 
hymn:  "  Mein  Glaub  ist  meines  Lebens  Ruh,"  which  was  a 
favorite  of  the  departed  brother,  and  after  the  singing  offered 
prayer  in  the  German  language.  Rev.  E.  Nidecker,  Dr. 
Mann's  assistant  and  successor  in  Zion's  Church,  read  the 
Scripture  and  Dr.  A.  Spaeth  delivered  the  German  address, 
basing  his  remarks  on  John  9:4.  "I  must  work  the  works  of 
Him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day:  the  night  cometh  when  no 
man  can  work."  This  was  followed  by  the  aria  from  Haendel's 
Messiah :  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,"  after  which  the 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Seiss  delivered  the  English  address.  It  was 
generally  regretted  that  Dr.  G.  F.  Krotel,  the  intimate  friend 


66 

of  Dr.  Mann  for  more  than  thirty  years,  whose  name  was  on 
the  programme  for  the  principal  address  in  English,  could  not 
be  present  on  account  of  sickness.  Professor  H.  E.  Jacobs, 
D.D.,  followed  with  an  English  prayer,  and  a  last  opportunity 
was  given  to  take  a  parting  look  at  the  features,  which  were 
so  familiar  to  the  hundreds  that  passed  the  coffin.  It  was 
nearly  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  the  last  words  of 
the  burial  service  were  spoken  at  the  grave  in  West  Laurel 
Hill  Cemetery. 

Dr.  W.  J.  Mann  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  highly 
gifted,  genial  and  original  men  the  Lutheran  Church  ever  had 
in  this  country.  In  addition  to  his  uncommon  natural  en- 
dowments he  had  the  advantage  of  an  excellent  classical  and 
theological  training,  such  as  his  native  Wurttemberg,  celebrated 
for  its  educational  institutions,  could  afford.  His  learning  was 
not  confined  to  theology  and  its  nearly  related  departments; 
it  covered  the  widest  range,  not  only  of  philosophical  and  his- 
torical subjects,  but  also  in  the  vast  kingdom  of  natural  philo- 
sophy, physics,  chemistry,  astronomy,  etc.  Much  as  he  had 
acquired  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  he  never  ceased  studying 
and  learning,  adding  new  treasures  to  his  rich  stores  from 
year  to  year.  He  was  an  indefatigable  reader;  but  faithful 
and  reliable  as  his  memory  was,  he  constantly  aided  and 
strengthened  it  with  pen  and  pencil,  taking  notes  and  making 
copious  extracts  from  books  and  journals,  wherever  he  would 
find  anything  that  seemed  worth  retaining.  There  was  no 
trace  of  scholasticism  in  his  knowledge.  Everything  he 
knew  he  had  appropriated  and  digested,  so  that  his  own  mind 
had  full  control  over  it,  and  whatever  he  brought  out  of  his 
storehouse  appeared  to  be  altogether  his  own,  bearing  the  im- 
print of  his  individuality.  The  freshness  and  directness  of  the 
living  word  was  everything  with  him  and  compared  to  this  all 
that  was  written  or  printed  seemed  to  be  of  small  account. 
As  the  world  and  its  history,  and  the  Church  and  her  life  and 
development,  so  his  own  thoughts,  his  whole  system  of 
philosophy  and  theology  seemed  to  be  in  constant  motion. 
According  to  the  turn  it  might  take,  according  to  the  impres- 


67 

sions  received,  he  would  have  very  different  views  of  the  same 
topic  in  succession  as  quick  as  the  changes  of  the  kaleidoscope. 
With  his  eminently  critical  mind,  and  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  world  he  was  naturally  inclined  to  pessimistic  views, 
but  it  was  the  pessimism  of  the  child  of  God,  which  is  sick  of 
this  world  and  its  ways,  and  longs  to  be  at  home  in  everlasting 
peace. 

Among  his  many  natural  gifts  and  endowments  his  aesthetic 
and  artistic  talents,  his  thorough  appreciation  of  the  beautiful 
in  art  and  nature  must  not  be  forgotten.  All  through  his  life 
he  used  and  enjoyed  that  precious  gift  of  holding  fast  with  his 
quickly  sketching  pencil,  any  charming  landscape  which  he 
might  come  across.  Many  a  poem  of  deep  and  tender  feeling 
and  well-shaped  form  was  written  by  him,  and  even  in  the 
English  language  he  was  successful  in  this  line.  But  his 
greatest  enjoyment  and  comfort  he  found  in  his  musical  en- 
dowment. What  a  treat  it  was  to  listen  to  him  when  he  sat 
at  his  beloved  piano,  revelling  in  musical  thoughts  and  dreams. 
With  striking  originality  and  ability  he  would  take  up  a  theme 
and  carry  it  through  in  the  most  elaborate  manner,  until  at 
last  he  would  return  to  his  favorite,  Handel  and  his  master 
piece,  the  Messiah,  concluding  with  some  reminiscence  from 
that  grand  oratorio  or  with  a  plain  German  choral. 

All  those  gifts  and  accomplishments  were  ennobled  and 
sanctified  by  the  sincere  piety  of  a  truly  devout  and  godly 
heart.  To  have  a  live  experience  of  the  mercy  and  grace  of 
God  which  overcomes  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin  and  makes 
new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus,  this  was  to  him  the  very  centre, 
the  moving  and  controlling  power  of  his  whole  life.  From 
this  fountain  sprang  that  indefatigable  ability  to  work  and  his 
delight  in  it,  which  are  such  prominent  features  in  his  charac- 
ter and  life  as  it  manifested  itself  to  outsiders.  His  capacity 
for  mastering  an  almost  incredible  amount  of  work;  was  some- 
thing phenomenal.  One  of  its  secrets  was  the  wise  and  con- 
scientious arrangement  of  his  working  time,  and  particularly 
the  use  he  made  of  his  early  morning  hours. 

The  love  of  God,  that  dwelt  in  his  heart,  made  him  gentle, 


68 

kind  and  forbearing  in  his  intercourse  with  others.  If  ever  he 
thought  that  by  some  rash  word,  in  the  heat  of  debate,  he 
might  have  hurt  another's  feelings,  he  hastened  to  make  his 
peace  with  the  offended  brother.  And  the  wrong  that  was 
done  to  him,  the  slanders  and  calumnies  which  were  at  times 
heaped  upon  him,  were  freely  and  fully  forgiven  by  his  gener- 
ous and  truly  humble  heart.  Though  he  himself  was  of  a 
tender  and  extremely  sensitive  nature  he  bore  such  wrong  hero- 
ically, knowing  too  well  the  nature  of  the  human  heart,  and 
comforting  himself  with  the  grace  of  his  God  and  Saviour. 

In  a  circle  of  congenial  friends  he  was  the  merriest  and  most 
enjoyable  companion,  brimful  of  wit  and  humor,  who  loved  to 
let  himself  go  in  innocent  pleasantry  like  a  child  in  its  hours 
of  play.  In  his  family  relations,  as  son,  husband,  father,  grand- 
father and  brother,  he  was  full  of  deep  and  tender  affection, 
making  his  beloved  ones  feel  how  truly  and  fully  he  sympa- 
thized with  them  in  their  joys  and  sorrows.  What  they  and 
those  who  enjoyed  his  more  intimate  friendship  have  lost, 
cannot  be  told. 

After  such  a  life  of  incessant  devotion  to  duty,  of  days  and 
nights  of  uninterrupted  work,  the  bitterest  experience,  from 
which  his  active  restless  mind  shrunk  with  natural  horror,  was, 
"  to  be  confined  to  the  sick-room,  to  be  obliged  to  stop,  though 
all  around  there  is  the  call  for  work."  Though  threatened  by 
this  dark  and  gloomy  shadow  he  was,  in  God's  providence, 
quickly  delivered  from  it.  He  hardly  tasted  the  night,  which 
forbade  him  to  work.  The  Lord  promptly  called  him  to  the 
rest  above. 

Requiescat  in  pace  et  lux  aetcrna  luceat  ei. 


69 


LIST   OF    DR.    W.   J.    MANN'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

1843.  Der   Dom   in   Mailand.     Jugendblnetter  von  Dr.  Barth  & 

Haenel.     (March  1843.) 
1845.  Die  Ansiedler  in  America.     Stuttgart.     Steinkopf. 

1 848-1 859.      Contributions  to  the  Kirchenfreund. 

1848.  Die  Kirche  der  Gegenwart  (eight  articles   from  Feb.  1848 

to  July,  1849.) — Der  gegenwaertige  Zustand  Deutschlands 
vom  historisch-politischen  Standpunct  aus  betrachtet. 

1849.  Ein  Weihnachtstraum. — Bibelbilder. 

1850.  Neujahrs. — Epistel  an  den  Kirchenfreund. — Die  Deutsche 

Presse  in  America. — Das  neue  Lutherische  Gesangbuch. — 
Geistige  Brosamlein. — Kirchliche  Tendenzen  und  ihre 
Gegner. — Die  Einwanderung. 

1851.  Neuere  Kirchliche  Organisations. — Versuche  in   Deutsch- 

land. — Das  Mystische  im  Glauben  und  die  Aufklaerung. 
— Die  deutsche  Theologie  der  Gegenwart  und  ihr  Einfluss 
— Saat  und  Ernte.  Gen.  8,  22. — Die  Zukunft  der  protest- 
antischen  Kirche. 

1852.  Des  Jahr  1851. — Deutsche  Notstaende  im  der  neuen  Welt. — 

Universitaeten  und  ihre  Bedeutung  fuers  ceffentliche 
Leben. — Claus  Harms'  Selbstbiographie. 

1853.  Jacob  Bcehme,  der  teutonische  Theosoph  (4  articles.) — Lit- 

urgie  oder  freies  Gebet  beim  oeffentlichen  Gottesdienst  ? 

1854.  An  unsere  Leser. — Rundschau. — Buecherschau. — Am  Grab 

des  Herrn. — Ordinations. — Thesen. — Das  Synodalwesen. 
— Aphorismen  ueber  die  Nacht. — America  und  die 
Deutschen. — Schelling. 

1855.  Rundschau.  —  Kirchliche   Armen    and    Krankenpflege. — 

Verschmelzung  nationaler  Eigentuemlichkeiten. — Him- 
melfahrts-Gedanken. — Die  Bibliotheca  Sacra  und  die 
Pastoren  in  Deutschland. — Blaetter  aus  dem  Wander- 
buche. — Vom  ungerechten  Haushalter.  —  Der  Augs- 
burger  Religionsfriede  1555. — Gemeinden  und  Sing- 
chcere. 

1856.  Rundschau. — Blsetter  aus  dem  Wanderbuche — Das  Ver- 

mieten  von  Kirchenstuehlen. — Deutsche  und  Englische 
Sprache. — Kirchlicher  und  religiceser  Standpunct  Wuert- 
tembergs. — Die  Heilige  Schrift  ein  Ganzes. — Die  Fortset- 
zung  des  Theologischen  Studiums  ein  Beduerfniss  fuer 
den  Evangelischen  Prediger. — Zur  Geschichte  der  Con- 
firmation. 

1857.  Rundschau.    Der  Zinsgroschen. — Christfest  und  The  Amer- 

ican Presbyterian. — Miramida. — Christentum  und  Thea- 


70 

ter. — Der  Pastor  und  sein  Umgang. — Jacobi  i,  25. — Pas- 
toral-Conferenzen. — Gedanken  zur  Lehre  von  der  Kirche. 
— Der  Pastor  und  die  Kranken. 

1858.  Rundschau. — Die  Deutsche  Reformirte  Kirche  und  die  Lit- 

urgische  Frage. —  Kalender. — Katechese.— Die  gegen- 
waertige  religiose  Bewegung.  ■ — Gedankengang  von 
Roem.  I-XI.  Das  heilige  Land  und  die  Gegenwart. — 
Zur  Confirmationsfrage. — Amt,  Stand  und  Person  des 
I'redigers. — Brand  des  Schiffes  Austria. — Deutsche  Pettier 
in  America. 

1859.  Rundschau. — Religion,  Natur  und  Ehe. — Einfluss  derevan- 

gelischen  Predigt  der  Gegenwart. — Ein  edler  Einwan- 
derer. — Die  europaeische  Kriegsfrage,  Die  evangelische 
Kirchen-Zeitungund  der  Umschwung  der  Dinge  in  Preus- 
sen. — Ein  Besuch  in  Economy. — Die  Sonntags  Frage. — 
Schiller. — Aus  der  Geschichte  der  Juden  nach  Christo. — 
Abschied. 

1849.  Universal   History. — Introduction.     Translated  by  J.  S.  E. 

(Ermentrout.)     Mercersburg  Review.     (3  Articles.) 

1850.  Ecclesiastical    Tendencies. — Mercersburg    Review.      The 

Immigration.     Mercersburg  Review.     Sermon  preached 
in  Salem's  German  Reformed  Church. 
1853.  Review  of  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Lectures  on  the  Principle, 

Doctrines  and  Practices  of  the  Catholic  Church. — Evan- 
gelical Review.   (April.) 

1855.  Mormonen — Article  in  Herzog's  Real- Encyclopaedic 

1856.  A  Plea  for  the  Augsburg  Confession,  in  answer  to  the  objec- 

tions of  the  Definite  Platform,  etc.  For  the  Lutheran 
Board  of  Publication.  Philadelphia,  Lindsay  &  Blakis- 
ton. 

1857.  Lutheranism  in  America  :  an  essay  on  the  present  condi- 

tion of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 
Dr.  Schmucker's  Symbols.     Article  in  the  Evangelical  Re- 
view, April. 

1869.  Johann   Christoph   Friederich  Schiller  in  Schiller-Album. 

Schajfer  <X:  Koradi.    Phila. 
"  Ibid.     Six  Sonnets  on  Schiller. 

i860.  Lebensbilder  vom  Missionsfeld.     Lutheran  Board  of  Publi- 

cation. 

1 860-1 892.     Contributions  to  Lutherische  Zeitschrift,  afterwards  Herold 
<.\;  Zeitschrift. 
Contributions  to  the  Jugendfreund. 

1863.  Dr.  Carl   Rudolph  Demme.     Funeral  Address.     Philadel- 

phia.    C.  W.  Widmaier. 


71 

1863-1865.  Contributions  to  Evangelische  Zeugnisse,  a  Homiletical 
monthly  published  by  Ig.  Kohler,  Philadelphia. 

1863.  Luther's  Kleiner  Katechismus,  erklaert  in  Fragen  und  Ant- 

worten,  zum  Gebrauch  in  Kirche,  Schule   und  Haus  (W. 
J.  Mann  and  G.  F.  Krotel). 

1864.  Edition  of  Kohler's  Family  Bible. 
1866.                Contributions  to  Lutheran  &  Missionary. 

Festgruss  zum  Zions-Jubilaeum.  Philadelphia.  G.  W. 
Widmaier. 

1868.  Dr.  K.  F.  E.  Stohlmann.     Funeral  Address.     Also  Memo- 

rial in  "  Lutherische  Herold." 

1 868-1 873.  Contributions  to  Rev.  S.  K.  Probst's  Theologische  Monats- 
hefte. 

1868.  Was  ist  das  Fundamental  im  Christenthum  ?    Thesen  und 

Referat. 

1869.  Blick  in  die  Zeit. 

1870.  Welche  Bedeutung  hat  die  Stelle,  Matth.  18:   15-17,  fuer 

die  Frage  der  Kirchenzucht. 

1872.  Sensations-Predigten. 

1873.  Dr.  Strauss  und  der  neue  Glaube. 

Der  Zeitgeist   der  Gegenwart  und   sein    Einfluss  auf  die 
Erziehung. 
1872.  Der    Deutsch-Franzcesische     Krieg.       Philadelphia.      Ig. 

Kohler. 

1872.  General  Principles  of  Christian  Ethics:  the  first  part  of  the 

system  of  Christian  ethics  by  Chr.  J.  Schmidt,  D.D.    Phila-' 
delphia.     The  Lutheran  Book  Store. 

1873.  The  Great  Reformation.    The  Lutheran  Book  Store.    Phila- 

delphia.     Address  at  the  Reformation-Festival   of  the 
Seminary.     (Delivered  in  German.) 

1878.  Preface  to  Benjamin  Franklin's  Autobiography.     Philadel- 

phia.    Ig.  Kohler. 
"  Theses  on  the  Lutheranism  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church 

in  this  Country.     (Proceedings  of  First  Lutheran  Diet.) 

1879.  Vergangene  Tage.     Aus  den  Zeiten  des  Patriarchen  Dr. 

H.  M.  Muhlenbergs.     Vortrag  bei  der  Reformationsfeier 
des  Seminars. 

1880.  Sketch  of  Dr.  Chas.  F.  Schaefer.     Memorial.      Published 

by  the  Alumni  Association. 

1881.  Heilsbotschaft.  Philadelphia.  Im  VerlagdesWaisenhauses. 

1882.  Leben  und  Wirken  William  Penns.    Reading.    Pilger  Book 

store. 
Contributions  to  the  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia:  Kunz, 
John  Christopher;  Lotze,  Hermann  Rudolph;  Muhlen- 


72 


berg,  Heinrich  Melchior;  Schaeffer,  Charles  Frederick  ; 
Schmucker,  Samuel  Simon  ;  Theological  Seminary  Phila- 
delphia. 
Ein  Aufgang  im  Abendland.    Reading.    Pilger  Book  store. 

1884.  Die  gute  alte  Zeit. 

Das  Buch  der  Buecher  und  seine  Geschichte.      Reading. 
Pilger  Book  Store. 

1885.  Abschieds-Predigt  am   16  Nov.  1884.     Der  Gemeinde  zur 

freundlichen  Erinnerung  gewidmet. 

1886.  Hallesche  Nachrichten.      I  Volume.      Allentown.      J.   H. 

Diehl. 

1887.  Life  and  Times  of   Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg.     Phila- 

delphia.    G.  W.  Frederick. 

1888.  Die  persuenliche  Freiheit.     Tract. 

1889.  Baptismal  Regeneration.     Tract. 
1880-1891.      Contributions  to  the  Workman. 

1882-1891.     Contributions  to  the  Lutheran  Church  Review. 

1882.  Suicide. — Russia. 

1883.  A  Sign  of  the  Times. 

1884.  Benedict  de  Spinoza. — East  India  and  its  Religious  Pros- 

pects. 

1885.  Unsound  Devotional  Literature.     Geo.  H.  A.  Ewald. 

1887.  Psychological    Questions. — Lutherans    in    America   before 

Muhlenberg. 

1888.  The  Conservatism   of  H.  M.  Muhlenberg. — Von  Scheie's 

Symbolik. 

1889.  Human   Mind  versus  The  Universe. — Questions  in   Ethics. 

1890.  Albert  Ritschl  and  his  Theology,  (four  articles). 
Contributions  to  American   Church  Review  (New  York) 

Church  Union. 

1891.  An  Ordination  Certificate  of  the  time  of  Muhlenberg. 
1891.  Christoph  Columbus.     Philadelphia.     Ig.  Kohler. 

1  leinrich  Melchior  Muhlenberg's  Leben  und  VVirken.  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.     Pastor  A.  Hellwege.     Roxborough. 


